Void Queen
by Seijinter
Summary: Trapped in a body and gender not of his own, Alexis was summoned through the void and into a strange new world. A world where magic and the fantastical are as common as cars in our streets. He may find a way home, or he may be consumed by this new reality. Which ever seemed the more appealing option... Rated M for violence, and exploration of mature themes.
1. The Queen Arrives

**12th April 2016**

 **AN: This is just something I wanted to get out of my head. I'm not sure if this will continue to be another story for me to write. The RWBY one is already taking too long to update.**

 **It's a bit weird as there's both first person and third person.**

 **Meh.**

 **There is no planning for this story what so ever, so even if I want to write more, it'll be pretty bland. Also, I haven't even read through much of Zero no Tsukaima's light novel yet, so I'm pretty ignorant in regards to the story and lore.**

 **But it's nice to imagine other "what if"s once in a while right?**

 **Enjoy.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 1 – The Queen Arrives

There are gift shops, food stands, and an endless amount of people everywhere. Every single aspect was painted with the theme of the League of Legends game. I would be excited seeing all this for the first time, however...

"So who are you meant to be?" asked, what I assumed to be, yet another League of Legends fan.

I looked beside me at my cousin, Jeana, asking, _hoping_ for any sort of help at all. For her to explain everything.

Nope.

Just a sweet smile and a nod. "Tell her Alexis."

To everyone else, she looked like a nice girl, encouraging her cousin. To me her smile looked like the face of the devil who just signalled to throw me even further down the depths of hell.

Why you ask? Well, I lost a bet. A _rigged_ bet.

As the victor of the bet, Jeana had me cos-play as any champion she wanted in League of Legends and...

"I'm...Rek'Sai...Queen of the...Xer'Sai..." I mumbled, gradually becoming more quiet with each syllable.

"Oh wow! Who knew you could make such a monster look so sexy!" the fan gushed.

"Hey Danny! Come over here! Look! I found a wild Rek'Sai! Haha!" She waved over a friend, possibly a boyfriend, while pointing at me.

Her friend, some dude with a scarf and yellow hair (a wig?) came over. I can tell he's cos-playing as well, probably Ezreal, but he seemed pretty comfortable in his getup. Unlike me.

He looked me over with a critical eye. I can practically feel his stare on every part of my body that his eyes traced:

My long purple wig.

The blue helmet in the shape of Rek'Sai's head.

Then immediately down to my chest which was covered by blue and purple armour. It was made much in the style of Rek'Sai's exoskeleton.

I don't know what it's made of but the quality of my cousin's handy work made it look like some shiny metal with scratch marks. I would have admired the details and her skill if not for the two round breastplate protruding out from my chest area. It looked incredibly feminine.

Not that I have any problem against femininity or females. It's just that it feels weird and out of place for me to be cross-dressing.

Yes. I'm a guy.

My audience, this Danny guy, had his attention on my chest armour a bit too long before moving on. Whether he was scrutinising the material used, or examining the quality of my cousin's craft, or if he just liked the... _shape_ of the armour, I can't tell. I don't need to spell out what _shape_ he might have liked right?

Or maybe he liked my abs. The armour only covered my chest after all. In either case: _Gaaah! Please stop! This is all weird and creepy!_

Next he took note of the blue and purple themed pauldrons that jut out from my shoulders. The edges were all jagged but the texture is smooth, sticking close to Rek'Sai's look.

Then he gazed down my lean arms to the clawed gauntlets I'm wearing. Again it's jagged, styled to portray fierceness.

His attention switched to my legs, which only had armour coverage around my waist, upper thighs, lower calves and my feet. All of it, blue and purple themed.

And yes, my groin and backsides were covered too. I wouldn't have worn this ridiculous getup if those were to be left exposed.

However, there was still quite a bit of skin exposed and I felt quite naked. I could only stand there stock still. I was like a deer caught in headlights, as if moving would expose more skin.

Behind me, a thick, blue, and armoured tail swayed slightly as I nervously twitched from standing still for too long. The purple underside reflected off the shiny tiles we stood on.

After what seemed like a millennia, his eyes finally found mine again.

"That's a really high quality costume you have there. Do you cosplay as any other characters in a humanoid form?" he asked, looking me up and down. Before I could form an answer he said something outrageous.

"Daaamn girl! I would dig your tunnels any day-"

 _Thwack!_

Danny received a prompt smack upside his head and turned with a hurt expression towards his assailant: the girl next him.

" _Danny!_ I can't believe you! You're such a _perv_." the girl exclaimed.

She turned to give me an apologetic look along with her apologies before she dragged her friend off into the crowd by the ear.

I turned to my cousin, expecting some sort of reaction and the expression I saw was one of her trying in vain to hold her mirth.

"Pfff! He thought you were a girl! He was totally hitting on you! Hahaha!" she got out between bouts of laughter.

"Yeah, I'm incredibly creeped out right now." I said shivering a little, hugging my arms. "I really hate you, Jeana."

"Oh come on, Alexis!" she said, lightly slapping a hand on my shoulder, lest she damage her oh-so-precious cos-play gear. "Cheer up! At least you have- pfff hahaha. A sexy figure! Oh, making this set was so worth it."

I really hate her right now, and I'm pretty sure my face shows that too, but I doubt she took note, nor cared. I hate myself even more for getting into this nightmare. It was stupid to have taken her bait. I should have known better: she doesn't play fair.

But I'm a man of my word. I had lost, and she was the victor. It wouldn't be very sporting of me to quit on my word. There's also the part where I can't really say "no" and that she's really pushy. But that only played a small part! It's mostly because I wouldn't go back on my word because I'm a man, okay?

A broadcast overhead announced that the League of Legends World Championship will begin shortly, jogging me out of my internal musings. With my cousin still giggling beside me, we began making our way to our seats.

Oh great, seats, how am I supposed to sit down with this tail in the way?

/* - */

Louise awoke feeling both anticipation and dread for this day. Her anticipation rose from the the mystery that is her future and her would-be familiar.

What will it be? What would be her classmates' reactions? How would her family react? How would her dear sister Cattleya react?

As her questions provoked wonder and hope, it also cast a shadow of doubt over her heart.

Louise hadn't been able to succeed in any spell she tried. What would happen to her if she can't even succeed in summoning a familiar? The shame and embarrassment she'd etch into her family's name would be devastating.

The Springtime Familiar Summoning was a rite of passage that signified their coming of age. It is during this summoning when a mage learns his or her affinity: Fire, Water, Air, or Earth.

Of course, there's the Void element too, but no-one can cast any void spells since the Founder Brimir himself. It is a lost element. One which no body had any knowledge of.

To fail the summoning is to fail at being a mage. If she failed, all she will have left to look forward to in life is either being married off for her family's political gain, or be banished by them altogether.

Those are grim consequences indeed, so the enormous amount of pressure she felt was completely understandable.

She shook herself a little to clear her mind and fully wake up. She had wasted enough time pondering "what if"s and the results of her summoning that she haven't even attempted yet.

Steeling herself like how her mother taught her, she embraced the day with the same resolve she had on any other day.

She _will_ succeed.

/* - */

"What!? No way I'm going in there!" I cried out in disbelief.

"Shhh! Stop shouting, it's fine. Just get in here!" my cousin whispered back.

She was waving me towards the women's restroom and she was going to help me get out of this outfit before sitting down to watch the tournament. But I'm a guy! I can't go into the women's restroom!

"Why are you making such a fuss about this! Man up!" Jeana kept whispering. "You've always looked like a girl anyway!"

Really that should have hurt my masculinity a lot more than it actually did. I've actually heard that my whole life, so right now it's nothing new. I just sort of got used to that fact. Just not enough to be cross-dressing and going into the women's restroom.

"I'm not going in there." I declared.

I had stood stubbornly on the same spot for the past five minutes already. I don't _need_ to get in there to change. I just need to take off my tail. The tail is detachable, Jeana should know. She made this damn costume.

The only reason she wanted me to fully change must be because of what's in that bag she had been lugging around. I bet my head that this is all still part of her plan. She must have brought girls' clothes just for me to cross-dress into. I hate that she's having so much fun doing this.

Finally having enough, she dropped her bag and strode over to drag me in. I resisted valiantly but she hadn't been my gym mentor for nothing. My only advantage was that she's holding back because she might damage her precious, precious Rek'Sai costume that I'm wearing.

Still, the girl's a mountain of brute strength. With a firm tug on my arm and a push from my back, I staggered and stubbled forward. I was about to flail into the domain of the fairer sex when I tripped on her bag.

I squawked embarrassingly and was about to face-plant into the floor when I noticed something off. That didn't look like the floor. More like a big purple ellipse that shimmered and distorted reality at the edges. I fell right against it.

Except I didn't, I fell right _into_ it.

As I passed the threshold of the ellipse, I felt a sudden surge, like electricity zapping through my body. Every nerve of my body felt as if it's alight in flames. Yet it didn't feel like pain. Still I screamed, the sensation was too much to me.

I heard Jeana screaming after me as I fell into a free-fall, still screaming myself. Then everything around me was oppressing darkness.

/* - */

Louise's earlier bravado had all but disappeared. Now in the actual heart of the event, the Springtime Familiar Summoning, she felt her resolve slip as time ticked by. All her classmates have already gone through their summoning. Why oh why was she last? Although the anticipation nearly drove her insane, her exterior expressed a firm almost stoic appearance.

Summon after summon, her hope dimmed as she saw all the wondrous creatures her classmates had summoned. There were ordinary cats, dogs, ravens, mice. There were exotic creatures like a salamander, and even a _dragon_. They say that the magical power of a summon deduced the magical potential of the master. So summoning a dragon was a huge achievement and also very rare. Jealousy didn't even begin to describe her feelings when she laid eyes on the dragon. Even if it looked young.

However, at this point she began entertaining thoughts of just keeping quiet, hoping against hope that Professor Colbert wouldn't remember or notice her. Maybe she could just slip away unnoticed, then secretly do the summoning in her own time later. That way, even if she failed, she wouldn't be failing in front of everyone.

"Now, have I left anyone out?" the voice of Professor Colbert rang out.

From a little further across the court of endless green grass, Professor Colbert could be seen surveying his students. With the afternoon sun illuminating everything vibrantly, his deceptively keen eyes picked out Louise amongst the students.

"Louise!" he called, adjusting his glasses a little as he did so.

Louise jumped, although she quickly recovered and composed herself.

 _Well, guess this is it._ Louise thought. She took one calming breath and was about to stride to the front of the crowd when a voice called out to her.

"Good luck Vallière! You'll need it!"

 _Damn Zerbst!_ Louise would recognise that annoying voice anywhere. The moment she heard it, it brought to mind resentment, the incomparable distance between Zerbst's success and her own, or lack thereof. It reminded her of her failures and what an embarrassment she was compared to Zerbst. Zerbst is quite possibly the embodiment of everything Louise couldn't achieve. But she won't give in to her rival's mockery.

She continued towards Colbert at the front of the crowd. Next to him, is a wide space where everyone else had called forth their servant for life.

Upon reaching the designated area. She chanced a glance at her classmates and immediately regretted it. She could taste their mockery just by looking at them. The butterflies in her stomach that were just fluttering before now felt as if they were trying to create a hurricane.

However, there was no time to be rendered incapacitated just because she felt nervous or because she feared failure. She shut her eyes and remembered what she had been taught.

 _Remember the rule of **steel**!_ Louise concentrated on burying her emotions. Nothing can effect her, no quick witted jabs, no blatant insults. She will show no weakness, for she is as immutable as _steel_.

Following her thoughts, she felt her connection to her magic. The power to force change on the world around her through her will. She focused her thoughts to one thing only: summoning her familiar.

"You may begin your summoning Miss. Vallière." Colbert informed.

She needn't be told, but Louise nodded her acknowledgement respectfully anyway. Professor Colbert was one of the few, if not, the only teacher in this academy who didn't look upon her with condescending eyes.

She cleared her throat and took out her wand. Gathering her willpower, she chanted the summoning spell she had been taught. Her version of the chant had added phrases that she thought would help focus her willpower more efficiently in bringing her the perfect familiar.

Her classmates muttered amongst themselves upon hearing the altered chant. But Louise ignored them.

She felt her willpower drain a little as she cast. The drain wasn't much, it was a rather simple spell for such a significant part of her life as a mage. She didn't allow that to interfere with her concentration as she finished her chanting, jabbing out her wand while pronouncing the last syllable.

The students all flinched as one when she finished her casting. They feared the typical resulting explosion that she would produce from every spell she tried to cast. However, the explosion never came. Louise took this as a sign that her spells finally worked, or at least are failing less obnoxiously. She still held hope though, as this was the first spell where nothing exploded.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited a little more.

Normally the time taken for the familiar to arrive after the chant would take no more than a few seconds. About half a minute had passed by now and it's pretty clear that her spell had failed, like the many that she had attempted to cast before.

 _No, no, no, no, please work! Something please happen!_ Despite reigning her emotions in firmly earlier, all of her nervousness, her doubts, and her fears spilt forth in that instant.

"Miss. Vallière-" Colbert began.

"No! Please! Let me try one more time! Please Professor Colbert!" Louise all but pleaded.

Looking quite like a parent giving in to a child's wish to 'play for five more minutes', Colbert nodded his consent.

Louise quickly concentrated again, her will as strong as steel even amidst her panicked state. She ignored all the hushed whispers and provoking comments of her classmates.

Her mind turned inwards, and all she heard was silence. She can't fail again. Not this time. This was her last chance.

She chanted again, this time her voice louder, clearer, filled with purpose. Every word she spoke, she believed in. Every phrase backed by what felt like never ending waves of her own willpower. She had never felt like this before. She had never so _one_ with her spell. As if she knew every meaning and nuance to every _letter_ in her chant.

As she neared the end of the spell, she poured everything into it. Her heart, her soul, she was willing to give it all. She will never be a failure again!

"Summon! Familiar!" Louise yelled the last part of her spell.

She jabbed the at the space in front of her with her wand and the air where she aimed seemed to compress and inwards, then expand outwards in a rush. It generated a gust of wind that flapped every student's capes and rippled the entire court's grass.

Again, there was no explosion, and the wind that whipped up only spoke of the amount of dedication Louise had put into the spell. The wind screeched passed everyone's ears, as if heralding what was to come.

The whole court suddenly fell silent, waiting with abated breath for what should be a fittingly dramatic follow-up.

Louise gritted her teeth, her hope hanging by a thread.

She waited...

 _No...no way. This is a nightmare._ Louise's wand hand fell by her side dejectedly. _So this is it._

The end of her mage career. Her life as a part of her family. As a person.

"Hah! What did I tell you? Once a Zero, always a Zero!"

"All that show, and for nothing!"

"Go home Zero! This is an Academy for _mages_!"

Her classmates piled on one after the other, launching insult after insult. But Louise couldn't care less. She'd failed. There's no more worth to her any more.

Louise clenched her hands and bit her lip, trying not to give in to tears while hardening her expression. If she's going to be expelled, she'd go out with dignity; what's left of it.

"Enough! I will not have my students devolve into animals who shun and abuse their own classmates!" Colbert abolished sharply.

His face softening to a more saddened expression and closed the distance between him and Louise. He put a hand on her trembling shoulders. His heart wrenched at the state of his poor student. He hated seeing any of his students in such emotional turmoil, especially one who dedicates herself to her study so furiously.

"I'm sorry, Louise." was all he could manage to say. He didn't know what else he could offer.

The Summoning was the mark of a mage, and to fail it can only mean that one was magic-less. At least, that is what was seen in the eyes of the common masses. Colbert could clearly see that Louise had magic in her blood, just no talent for applying it.

At this point, the only thing he could do was dismiss his class and take her to see the headmaster. As he was about to inform her of this, an ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream ripped through the entire academy grounds. _ **(1)**_ Everyone quickly covered their ears in distress and fright.

It was an inhuman scream like no other and everyone who heard it knew by some deep primal instinct: _they are prey_.

And the predator is here.

The screech echoed through the surrounding area long after the initial scream sounded. Birds can be seen flying away even in the distance, wings flapping desperately to get away. A burst of activity bustled in the nearby forest as other local wildlife also fled in alarm.

"What in Tristain was _that_?" Colbert wondered as he uncovered his ears and grasp his staff that he left leaning against him.

No sooner had he uttered those words the summoning area crumbled. It was as if there had been a large cavern beneath them and the scream cracked the ground; the roof of the underground cavern.

As the earth and grass gave way to the great hole, a purple pillar of light shot up from within it, reaching to the sky. It shone so brightly that even the sky seemed dim in contrast to the beacon.

Before anyone could make heads or tails of the current situation, the ground rumbled. The magnitude of the tremors grew stronger exponentially until it reached a point of climax. A huge beast of unknown origin burst up from the hole in the ground. It hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, then came crashing down in front of the students.

It was a fearsome looking creature with sharp teeth and mandibles. It didn't look to have any eyes, or a nose for that matter, which only brought it's chilling appearance up to another level. Its body was mostly blue and looked to be naturally armoured, like an exoskeleton. It has claws at the end of two front limbs and a single large claw at the end of each of the four legs further down it's body.

It looked like an oversized insect of some sort, if the insect was crafted in a nightmare that is. Every edge of the creature highlighted a new danger, especially that large curved spike protruding down it's back. It looked sort of like a shark's fin, though much crueller in appearance. All across it's body were purple undertones that glowed and pulsed with unknown energy.

After the shock, Louise slowly recovered. Observing more intently for the first time since laying eyes on the monster. Apart from it's ferocious appearance, it stood quite still, its head turning ever slightly, as if observing through invisible eyes...or listening for heartbeats. It's inactivity made it seem rather docile, however.

 _Wait. Could it be...?_ Louise knew she was desperate now, but there had to be a correlation right? She had just finished chanting her summoning spell, and now a creature appeared. Sure it might have took a lot longer than any of the other summoning, but why else would there suddenly be a creature here?

This is her familiar. She was sure of it. She took a step towards it.

"Miss. Vallière. I suggest you approach slowly to avoid spooking it." Colbert warned with great concern. His eyes had not removed themselves from the blue and purple creature since it's arrival. "I have not seen a creature the likes of that before, but I think it is your familiar. Go on now, I will be right behind you. You have nothing to worry about."

Slowly and cautiously, Louise inched towards the strange beast. As if sensing her approach, the creature turned it's head towards her and she stopped. No further action was taken by the beast, it was just content to study her.

Swallowing her fear, Louise slowly got closer to the creature until she was face to face with it. The creature didn't react and Louise took it as a good sign.

Up close, the beast looked even more terrifying and imposing. A lot of it contributed from it's sheer size, it was even larger than the young dragon her classmate had summoned!

"What are you?" Louise asked quietly in wonder.

Surprisingly, a raspy but feminine voice mixed with many clicks and clacks answered back.

"I'mhhh Rek'Saiii...Qhueen of the Xerrr'Saiii."

/* - */

 _ **(1)**_ \- vignette2. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/b/b1/RekSai. **(** R1 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20150214025537

(Remove the brackets.)

/* - */

 **AN: Well that's it. I hope you have enjoyed it. Again, don't hold too much hope of me furthering this story much. Please do comment though and tell me your likes and dislikes of this idea. I won't be offended, it is after all just an idea I wanted to get out of my head. I haven't planned any further plot for it anyway.**

 **Until next time.**


	2. Roped In

**19th April 2016**

 **AN: This came out really weird and maybe a bit boring. It'll probably be a lot better next chapter.**

 **Also, check my profile to see the status of my stories. I always keep them up to date.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 2 – Roped In

After I told the little girl what I am cos-playing as, I sighed in exasperation. I'm just so tired of this already, I should take this costume off. But first, I should get back to the viewing area and find Jeana.

I looked around a little more and I still can't really determine where I am. I don't remember ever seeing this place, and the stadium for the world championship is no where in sight.

I do, however, remember tripping over my cousin's bag, then I probably succeeded in escaping Jeana's clutches and walked out, wondering off somewhere...for something...

Strange.

It all felt so dream like, like my memory had been dipped in haze, and I felt somewhat disoriented when ever I tried to remember more clearly.

How I got here isn't that important, I just need to get back. I'm sure I can make it back if I asked around. Speaking of which, I could probably ask this girl if she knows the way back.

"Ehhhxcuse -" I began, but my voice felt a little dry and raspy for some reason. I tried to clear my throat to try again, but all I succeeded in doing was make some weird clicking noises. Well that's weird, and kind of embarrassing. I think I might have creeped her out, but I tried to ask my question again.

The girl exclaimed, cutting me off before I could open my mouth again.

"You can talk!"

What?

What kind of reaction is that?

If it wasn't for her surprised expression, I would have thought she was just kidding and making a joke out of my cos-play. Actually she could be, but then those are some serious acting skills. She looked genuinely surprised and taken aback.

Or maybe she's role-playing right now. I mean, she died her hair pink, or maybe wearing a wig. I mean it's got to be a wig right? Her hair flows all the way pass her waist and to caress the back of her thighs. She's also wearing reddish coloured contacts-lens, a white school shirt, and a grey skirt. I can see everyone else cos-playing too. Strange that they are all wearing the same themed costume. A cloak around some school uniform with wands.

Some sort of magic school role-play? Hogwarts?

It's pretty good, they all look the part, there's even a teacher with a big staff watching over everything. He seems to be staring very intently at me too. Kinda weird.

"W-What are you?" the girl asked in wonder. Damn she's really good at acting. You don't find skills like this often in people of her age. She's what, 14, 15?

Okay.

Okay, I'll play along. If only because I respect her as an actress and I don't want to ruin the role-play for her and everyone else. They put a lot of effort into this I can tell, and it's kinda rude of me to just wonder in here and break their immersion. So all I have to do is come up with a situation that is appropriate for their setting, yet also allows me to walk away from this place.

"As I hhhave said, I am the qhueen of the Xerrr'Saiii." I stated. "I meeeaaan you all no hhharm. Iiin fact, iiit would seem that I need hhhelp getting back to the Riiift. Does any one know the wayyy?"

All throughout my ad-lib, I kept feeling as if my voice felt dry or different somehow. There were many sounds that I pronounced with more emphasis than normal. When I concentrate on it, it sounds fine, but I'm also hearing other things along with it; clicks. My mind tells me it's fine, as if my voice had been like that my entire life so I shrugged it off. I'm probably just a bit dry. I'll go find some water later. Probably with something to eat. For some reason I'm starving right now and I've had lunch not an hour ago.

"The Rift?" she inquired, tilting her head to one side. "Is that where you are from?"

"Ahhh. No, the Summoner's Riiift is a the Fiiield of Justice for poliiitical decisions by combat. I need to return as a summoner may have need of me there." I replied in detail. Hopefully one of the 'students' will know that I'm talking about the League of Legends World Championship that is taking place nearby and can direct me to it.

The girl in front me looked confused at my explanation and also undecided on how she might respond.

I looked around at the other 'students' hoping that at least one of them knows of the event and would speak up, but the person who addressed me next was still this pink haired girl in front of me.

"Well, if you were hoping to be summoned, then you already have been." she informed me. She straightened her posture and placed one hand on her chest while waving her wand with the other. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make her my familiar."

Okay, I have so many questions:

Firstly, 'Loo-eez Franswa Le Blan de La Valley-air'?

That's such a long-ass name! It even has 'Le Blanc' in it, a League of Legends character. Either that's coincidence or she knows about League of Legends and she's now just screwing with me.

Secondly, summoned me? She's just going to rope me into this whole role-play by saying that she summoned me. Really? I don't have time to waste here. If this goes on, I'm breaking character, immersion be damned.

Finally, though I'm not surprised any more at this point, she called me 'her'. Much like everyone else who saw me in this damn costume.

 _Tap._

She gently tapped her wand on my head before suddenly leaning in and gave my forehead a quick peck with her lips. It was so sudden that I couldn't react in time.

Great, now I'm gona be her slave in this role-play. But screw that, I'm just about done. I was going to break character and just ask normally for directions when a searing pain made itself known on my left hand.

I looked at it in alarm and noticed something off. The claws for my costume seemed a little too big, and even though I know it's made in high quality, it looked a bit too life like. There also aren't any exposed skin. My entire arm was covered in Rek'Sai's exoskeleton.

On my hand, some sort of runes were being burnt on and inscribed into the exoskeleton. But why can I feel every stroke the invisible calligrapher made on the armour as if it was on my own skin?

I gritted my teeth and groaned through the process, not being able to think of anything else other than to just bear with the pain. A strange squealing noise escaped my throat but I didn't pay attention to it as I dug my claws into the ground. _ **(1)**_

Finally, after an excruciating amount of time, the burning in my hand faded and the pain ebbed away. My heart was still racing but I breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, for the first time, I had a look at myself. My arms and hands; no, my _claws_. My body. My _four_ legs. My _tail_.

I have so _many questions_!

On the top of that list is WHAT THE F-

/* - */

Louise felt a little bad about her new familiar, this self proclaimed 'Queen of the Sersai'. The familiar runes must have came as quite the surprise, and from the squeals it made, it must have hurt quite a bit.

On a happier note, she got a familiar! Louise can hardly believe it! And it looks powerful and definitely a magical being. It can even talk! Sure, it's appearance is a little terrifying but it's everything she could ever hope for. She silently thanked the Founder profusely for this gift and much needed break in her life.

"Hm, good. It looks like you've managed to complete 'Contract Servant' on the first try." Professor Colbert nodded in approval. "I dare say, this is the first time I've seen such a creature. If you don't mind, Miss Vallière, I'd like to study her when you can spare the time. Nothing that will bring her harm, I assure you."

Brought abruptly out of her internal celebration, Louise blinked owlishly at her teacher before she fully comprehended his words. Not seeing a problem with that, she nodded her consent. She would be able to learn more about her strange familiar with a professor of Colbert's level of academic talent.

"For now, I'd like to check your familiar's runes." Colbert strolled up to the creature which seemed to be urgently checking every part of it's body.

When he got near, the creature stopped and focused its attention on Colbert, watching him almost wearily.

"I'm just going to examine the runes." he told the creature reassuringly.

Colbert bent down to take a cursory look before taking out a small notebook and a quill. He crouched down and began scribbling down his notes. Given that he had no need to dip his quill into an inkwell, his quill is probably enchanted with some magic to provide ink instead.

Louise wasn't surprised, such equipment were common place for an academy as prestigious as this one. Many magical advancements also came or at least originated from here. So being a part of this academy filled most students with some sense of pride.

Speaking of which, Louise was brimming with pride and is currently sneaking glances at her classmates. For the most part, they were appropriately wide-eyed and unbelieving of her feat. Louise stood a little straighter, proud of her own achievement. However, her pride was tempered by the hushed whisperings of other students. Some were even stifling giggles and Louise felt her eyebrow twitch.

Removing her attention from them, she searched the crowd again, particularly for a certain red-headed rival. Kirche.

When she did spot Kirche, Louise almost smirked openly, but composed herself at the last second. There will be plenty of time for gloating later. Oh she is going to enjoy this. She will milk it for all it's worth.

Movement caught her eyes as she turned her head to see Professor Colbert putting away his notes and quill.

"All done." he announced. "Hm...it looks a little strange, and I can't make out it's meaning..."

Shaking his head, he turned back to address his class.

"Alright, that will be all. I hope you bond well with your familiars. They are your life long companions and will serve loyally. Remember what such loyalty deserve in kind. As the master, you are to ensure the well-being of your familiars."

Pausing to let his words marinate, Colbert gave them all a somewhat stern look, seemingly staring into every student straight in the eye. Once he was satisfied that his message had adequately sunk in he dismissed the class, turning on his heels and headed towards either his room or the library. Those were the two places he would most commonly be found in.

Everyone dispersed at once, most choosing to fly away to their dorms, though a few stayed behind discussing their newly summoned familiars. Of the few that remained, Louise was among them.

She looked appreciatively at her familiar, just soaking in the cocktail mixture of joy, relief, and pride. However, looking at it now the creature seemed a little agitated. It's mandibles twitched and it was shuffling on the spot. It's attention was directed solely at Louise. If it wasn't for it's menacing appearance, she would have thought it acted quite cute.

Though it's intimidating size and appearance should suggest otherwise, she would talk to it. It is her familiar, it shouldn't harm her. Even her classmate who summoned a dragon had it under control, so it should be no different for her.

"Fam-" Louise began to call out before stopping herself. It won't do to just call it "familiar" all the time. It needed a name. She hadn't thought of one before hand because she doubted that she could even summon anything. Either way, that can wait. For now she'll just have to call it by it's specie's name.

 _What was it? 'Sersai'?_ Louise thought.

"Sersai, what seems to be the problem?" she half demanded, hands on her hips.

The creature paused in its fidgeting.

/* - */

First I get this tattoo that's somehow _burnt_ itself into my...claws. And then the _claws_! And my entire _body_! I didn't notice before because I could move every part of this body like I would have if it was still human. But right now I'm...I'm...a Xer'Sai.

A real life, living, breathing Xer'Sai, and I think specifically Rek'Sai; the character I cos-played as. I'm now her! I'm now _a_ 'her'!

I'm so confused right now!

Maybe this is all a dream. One seriously vivid dream. Everything feels too real, the texture of the ground under my claws, the weight of my body, the powerful muscles I now instinctively know how to control.

Oh and the _flying_ students! They just upped and went 'screw gravity', and flew to those towers over there.

Everyone here held wands. Which means that all of this non-logical stuff that's happening is... _magic_?

My observation and logic conflict, and I have no idea what action I should take. I'm in uncharted territory, both physically and mentally. It would be wise to gather information first.

I calmed myself down as best I could. Panicking won't help me now, and my lack of focus won't neither.

I should reply to this little girl now, and not in a manner unfit for me given how I spoke before. She said I was summoned by her, so I should play the part. For now. Hopefully I'll get some answers and soon.

"I'm fiiine Mahster." I said, uncomfortable with forming words with a different voice. Now that I understood what has become of me, I understood why it was difficult to pronounce words properly.

"My name iiis Rek'Saiii. Queen of the Xer'Saiii." I self-introduced again since she seemed to not know my name, or don't know how to pronounce it. After all I've only said it just once.

I lowered my head and the front part of my body, hoping to portray a bowing action.

"To whom have I been summoned and why?" I asked, still bowing.

"I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. But you will call me 'Master'." she declared. "I performed the Springtime Familiar Summoning as per tradition and I have summoned you. You will be my life long companion, serving me with utmost loyalty, while I, as the master, shall take care of you."

To me, everything she said so far sounded crazy, but then so is this entire situation. If I was to believe one crazy thing, then I'll have to believe the other crazy things too, right? But the thing was, I don't want to be a slave to some random girl for the rest of my life. Well...maybe if I wasn't a slave but a ' _slave_ ' to the girl then...

…

What the hell am I thinking! This is no time for idle fantasies! I mean, for one she looks way too young, and even if I wanted to be a ' _slave_ ', I certainly don't want to spend my life being Rek'Sai.

I mean sure, it may sound cool objectively; to be the 'Void Burrower'. But to actually live and breathe as the creature is pretty unnerving. I'm very much attached to my human body. And my gender!

Oh the horror! I've checked just then and... _they weren't there any more_. Mini Alexis and his two brothers had disappeared, replaced by _Miss_ Alexis. This whole situation is all kinds of screwed up!

"Yes, Master." I intoned almost in monotone, not reflecting even a sliver the chaos that's within my mind right now.

Even if my life as I knew it was flipped upside down, I still have to try and put up a fight. And the only way to do that now is to go with the flow until I get my bearings. I'm not in the position to be making much demands right now, I know that much given everyone's attitude so far.

If there is a way to screw my life up this much, then there's a way to fix it. This place has magic in it doesn't it? Since there is magic, then anything is possible, right? I can change back, go back to my usual life. I just have to hold on to that hope, lest I lose my mind in this chaos.

"Good." she said simply and started towards goodness knows where. I followed her for a while and a pair of students walked up to us with their pets. 'Familiars' if I'm not mistaken.

Friends of Louise's?

The first one I noticed was of course the taller girl. Everything about her screams for attention after all and by the way she walks, she knows it.

She has tanned skin, very eye-catching, waist-length red hair, and an even more eye-catching physique. She's best described as a walking hourglass. Even though she's also just wearing the school uniform like everyone else, her ridiculous bust size and the extremely short length of her skirt transformed it into an incredibly sensual outfit instead. One too many buttons are undone from the top of her school shirt but I don't blame her, her shirt's struggling enough as it is to contain this sex-bomb's breasts.

The other girl was of much smaller stature, even shorter than Louise, and Louise is pretty short. Both girls would only reach the tall one's chin. This smaller girl's physique is quite like Louise's; slim and petite. She has light-blue hair that falls just short of her shoulders in a neat and tidy fashion. She wears glasses with a red frame and holds a book in one hand, currently being read. Even when walking, her eyes never seem to leave her pages.

"Well I have to say I'm very surprised about what you have summoned Vallière." the tall one said, smiling. Or was she smirking? I'm getting a bit of antagonistic vibe between Louise and this tall girl already. Or maybe it's just friendly ribbing. I can't quite tell without much context.

"Actually I'm surprised you were able to summon anything at all!" she laughed. "Congratulations!"

Louise gritted her teeth and I can see her hands clench for second, her body tensed and her shoulders hunched. She relaxed quickly and said, "Well you're not so bad yourself for summoning a salamander, _Zerbst_."

What she said would have been a compliment if not for how she spat out the taller girl's name like it tasted like dirt. So much for trying to appear civil.

The tall girl blinked in surprise, but not because of how her name was said, but...

"Wow! What's this? A Vallière giving praise? Who would have thought this day would come? Are you really that happy today because you've succeeded on this one spell?" Zerbst's smirk widened as she teased Louise.

"Shut up Zerbst! I'm just acting as any noble would act, not like you a-and y-your myriad of...of...b-boys..." she stuttered. Louise's face turned a deep shade of red, more from embarrassment than frustration.

"And that's two spells I got right today! 'Summon Familiar' and 'Contract Familiar'!" she exclaimed proudly.

The tall girl brushed passed Louise, ignoring her and came close to me, studying me with interest.

"Say, you can talk right?" she inquired of me. "Everyone heard you speak."

I nodded mutely as she examined me like some sort of animal. I don't blame her, I would too if I saw a real life Xer'Sai that's not looking to eat me alive.

"What are you exactly?" she asked.

"I'm a Xer'Saii." I said, gradually getting better at pronouncing my words.

"She is the _queen_ of Xer'Sai!" Louise exclaimed, still agitated by Zerbst's behaviour.

"Do you have a name?" she asked me again, seemingly ignoring Louise.

"My name is Rek'Sai. And you?" I said, this time succeeding in pronouncing the words normally.

A slight nudging feeling brought my attention down my legs. A red lizard like animal is sniffing and nudging my sides. For a lizard, it was huge, easily the size of a large dog. It must be attracted to the parts of my body that pulsed with the power of the Void.

"I am Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst. That," she pointed to the red lizard, "is my familiar, Flame! A salamander! Come here Flame, come say hello to a friend."

She cooed for her familiar and it came around to meet me face to face. I lowered my head to meet it's eye with my...non-eyes. Actually I don't even know how I can see right now. Come to think of it I've never actually had need to blink.

The salamander shrunk back fearfully while hissing and growling, trying to put up a brave front while retreating to the back of it's master.

Kirche blinked at her familiar's reaction, then laughed, "Haha, sorry Rek'Sai, but I have to agree with flame here. You do look quite horrifying."

Somehow I don't really think so given how causal Kirche was in my presence. She's even standing right in front of me.

"But don't worry, I'm sure you'll soon be friends. Hey! Tabitha! Bring your familiar over here! They can be good friends!" she called to her shorter companion.

Before the girl with the light-blue hair could respond (and it didn't look like she would have), Louise had cut in vehemently, "Absolutely not! Kirche, we are _not_ friends, so stop bothering my familiar! Don't you have better things to do? Go do whatever it is you do. Flirt with someone, I don't care! Rek'Sai!"

I shifted my attention to Louise to indicated I was listening.

"You are forbidden to talk with Kirche and her familiar. Do you understand?" she demanded.

'Forbidden'?

"Isn't that a bit harsh, master?" I asked.

"No! No talking, no befriending, no anything!" she yelled out in frustration.

"O...okay..." I awkwardly agreed. Her attitude seemed a bit childish and spoilt, but, had I mentioned before that I had a hard time saying 'no'?

Louise stormed off and I followed her with a quick 'goodbye' to Kirche and her blue haired companion.

/* - */

I quickly caught up to Louise, not surprising given my size and my surprising amount of agility. We silently walked to the entrance to one of the towers surrounding this school.

She was about to enter the building when she suddenly stopped. She turned around with an expression that told me she just remembered something.

"Rek'Sai, normally a familiar should stay with the master at any time, but you're too big to fit in my room." she told me matter-of-factly. "There is a stable for larger mounts like dragons and griffins over there, you shall stay there until I come get you tomorrow."

She pointed at a general direction and I tried to see where she's pointing at. I'd squint if I had eyes, but nothing I did helped me find the stables she's referring to.

"You there! Maid!" Louise called out to, what I presume was a servant of this school who happened to pass by.

"Y-Yes my lady?" the maid stuttered, jumping at the sudden call.

"Make sure my familiar gets to the dragon's stables." and with that, Louise dismissively walked off into the building.

The maid bowed as Louise took her leave. She only straightened herself once Louise was out of sight. She turned to look at me properly for the first time and I can see her fear reflecting in her eyes.

I tried to ease her concerns by introducing myself. People are only scared of the unknown, so if she gets to know me, if only just a little bit, then the poor girl won't feel so scared.

"Hello, I'm Rek'Sai, Master Vallière's familiar. Might I ask your name?" I tried to sound polite as I said that. It was very hard with how raspy and alien a Xer'Sai's voice was. And I would cringe at my words if my face could make that expression. I sound like a friggin' RPG character!

"Eeep! O-oh! You can talk!" she said sounding very surprised. Composing herself with a smile she answered my question, "Nice to meet you, Rek'Sai. My name is Siesta."

/* - */

 **(1)** – vignette3. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/0/03/RekSai. **(** death01 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20141216180119

(Remove the brackets.)

/* - */

 **AN: Those of you searching for excitement will have to wait for a the coming chapters. This chapter's used to introduce the other characters and sort out how the master/familiar relationship will start out. I feel that Alexis is a bit messy as a character though. Hopefully I can change that, or if you can suggest to me how to improve that in a review, that would be very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Stranded

**15th May 2016**

 **AN: A short chapter and no action, but necessary to set up for the coming chapters. It might be a little boring, but the next one should have some action in it and I'll try to move the plot along a little.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 3 – Stranded

Talking with the maid had been calming and the stroll across large fields of lush green grass helped ease my mind. I can tell her apprehension has subsided too, or at least not as prominent as when she first saw me.

She introduced her self as Siesta, a member of this school's staff. She has lightly tanned skin, black hair and black eyes. She's a little shorter than Kirche from before, though not as short as either the blue haired girl or Louise. Her features resemble that of either Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or some other light skinned Asian; I couldn't tell.

She called herself a 'maid'. I thought maids only serve within rich households or something. I don't really know much about them.

As we walked towards our destination, we mostly talked about our origins. She was a bit hesitant at first to ask me, perhaps believing it would offend me, but as we spoke, we quickly gained some sort of familiarity with each other. It wasn't hard, she's a very kind soul, and I'm turning out to be a very by-the-book 'gentle giant'.

But...as I lure her closer with the illusion of safety...I'll spring my trap! MUHAHAHAHA!

Hrmhrm...

I mean...

I just wanted her to get comfortable talking to me so that I can ask her more about this place like: Which country is this? Is this some secret unmapped place in the world like in Harry Potter? How have they remained so secretive for so long? Is taking me to become what basically amounts to a slave legal? Do they have deserts?

Hm...

Now why was that last question relevant? This whole situation must be taking a bit of a toll on my sanity.

"Well I don't know much about magical animals so I'm not sure where Xer'Sais are from. I don't even know where half the familiars from the summoning are from." Siesta admitted.

What do I tell her? That I'm actually human? That Louise's magic had warped me? What consequences would there be with legal concerns if word gets out?

I'm too much in the dark, and doing or saying anything out of the norm around here will put me in a disadvantageous position. Yeah I know sound like some sort of shady schemer right now, but I'm a real thinker at heart. Aside from blindly getting baited by my cousin Jeana into that bet. She's the reason I'm Rek'Sai right now!

No. I can't blame her. She wouldn't know this would happen, and I doubt she would believe me if I made it back.

Focusing back on my conversation with the maid, my silence had stretched a bit on the long side, so I went with Rek'Sai's back-story.

"We Xer'Sai live in the Shuriman desert." Uhg, again with this RPG character talk, but since everyone's drinking up this kind of speech pattern like water, I guess it's normal here, or at least not outlandish.

The only thing not normal is the clicking sounds that seem to be an integral part of my words. My voice is also different. The pitch of my voice didn't get much higher, just more feminine in a way, but still a bit deep for most women.

However, since this is the first time Siesta's hearing my voice, she'll think this is my normal voice, and doesn't share my concern of how odd it is to speak in a voice not your own.

"The desert? Oh! Isn't that Rub' al Khali?" She asked. Her eyes seem to sparkle with wonder at the mention of anything foreign. "Is 'Shuriman' what you call it natively?"

"Shurima." I corrected. "And I don't think we are talking about the same desert."

Rub' al Khali is the largest desert on Earth; part of the Arabian Desert. It's not a familiar name, but at least it's something I recognise in this strange fantasy-land. Wherever _this_ is they speak English so that's a clue.

"The 'same' desert? I thought there is only one." She said while tilting her head in question.

That's odd, even the most sheltered person would know that there isn't just one desert in a world this big. In fact, just where am I?

"Siesta, what country are we in?" I clicked. I just can't seem to stop the clicks from forming parts of my speech.

Siesta doesn't seem to mind though as she answers me back without hesitation.

"We are in the Kingdom of Tristain."

"Kingdom." I echoed.

Do we still have Kingdoms? I've never heard of 'Tristain' before.

"Yes, and we're in Tristain Academy." She further clarified.

"And the surrounding countries? What other countries are we near?" I further inquired.

"Um, there's the Germanian Empire to the east, the Gallian Kingdom to the south, and the Albion Kingdom to the west." She listed. "Oh, and there's the Romalian Empire further south of Gallia."

Germania, Gallia, Albion, Romalia. None of these sound like a country I have heard of apart from Germania and Romalia, which sound like Germany and Rome.

Is this some alternate dimension? Where the Earth is kind of the same to mine, but has a lot of other differences? The people here all look human, they speak English. However, their technology evolved with magic, and the style of architectures are a lot more middle-age looking. It's like Harry Potter but world wide.

That's...much more unsettling than just being teleported to a secluded country. At least then I'm still on my own Earth in my own dimension. This here is another universe entirely. I'll never be able to get home...

"Rek'Sai? Are you okay?" Siesta's call jolted me back to reality.

I must have stopped walking seeing as she's several meters in front of me. She's looking back with an expression of slight confusion and a hint of worry.

"I'm fine, just...thinking." I assured her.

She doesn't look too convinced but continued walking anyway as I caught up to her. Gesturing to a little further ahead, she pointed out the stables for the larger mounts.

"We're here. Just wait outside and I'll get the stable hands to look after you." She said and was just about to hurry off before I stopped her with my hand.

She yelped in surprise at the sudden force keeping her in place and at the fact that large sharp claws are encasing her shoulder.

"Sorry, but could you hold on a minute?" I asked. She turned around a little nervously but nodded. "I don't really want to be living in a stable. It just doesn't feel...right."

I say that, but really, I can't just tell her I was human and that people don't sleep in stalls. Well, actually I can, but I'm not sure if she'll believe me. Besides, the stable likely has other occupants and it'll stink. I know how much a normal stable that houses horses stink, so I can imagine how much more it'll stink for larger mounts with larger crap and body odour.

"If it's not too much to ask, is there a spare room that no one uses I can use?" I asked.

"Um, I might be able to find one, but where do Xer'Sais normally sleep?" Siesta asked back.

"Usually we burrow underground." Or at least I think that's what the Xer'Sai do. "But we often find abandoned ruins of the old city for shelter."

"Well, I can think of an old classroom that never gets any use, but Miss. Vallière asked me to see you to the stables." She said worriedly.

"That's ok, just tell her that her Familiar requested this himself." I said.

"'Himself'?" Siesta tilted her head in confusion.

Crap! I messed up!

"Ah- I mean. Did I say 'himself'? I meant 'herself'. I must be uh...um, hungry. Yes! It's been a while since I last ate, and my stomach's been distracting me." I tried to recover from my blunder, but to be honest, I _am_ pretty hungry.

"Where is this spare classroom you had in mind?" I changed the topic in hopes of her forgetting my little mistake.

"It will be back that way." She said pointing back to the general direction of where we came from.

"Good, then I'll be closer to Master so I think she will have no problems with my relocation." I nodded in hopes of her agreeing with me. I really don't want to live in a smelly stall.

Thankfully she agreed and took me to the classroom. Conveniently, the door was large enough for me to fit through it, though I think that was part of the reason why Siesta chose this room.

"I hope you are okay with this room. It's a little dusty but I can come back and clean it for you." She offered.

"No no. You've done enough for me, thank you." I said.

"It's really no problem. I'll be going back to the main building to tend to my duties then." She was about to leave when she turned back, remembering something. "Oh I almost forgot. The sun will be down in a few hours so we will be serving food to the students."

"I can prepare something for you as well after they are done so...what foods do you prefer?" She asked.

"I don't particularly mind. I'll just have whatever is left over from the students. Otherwise, it will all be wasted right?" I answered.

"Oh. Are you sure you don't want any...fresh meat?" She asked doubtfully.

"Like cooking more food? No no. I'll don't mind left overs, really." I answered again. Then suddenly, a thought hit me. "Oh do you mean, raw meat?"

She nodded in...embarrassment? Perhaps she thought it was rude to ask a sentient and sapient being if they would like to eat like a savage animal, but I took no offence. I understand where she's coming from after all.

"Just the left overs is fine." I assured once again. I'm not sure how my taste buds had changed, or how my dietary track had warped, but I'm confident I can just try things out when the food arrives and leave the things I can't take alone. I'll have to experiment carefully with my sense of taste. Usually, when something tastes as if they don't belong in your mouth, it's usually dangerous to your body.

As a Xer'Sai, I can tell from my teeth and claws that I am carnivorous. So any meat is probably safe to eat. I'm not sure about fruit or vegetables. I'm not sure what kind of animals or plants the food will originate from. This is after all, an alternate world to my own.

Siesta left with a polite nod, leaving me alone to silently contemplate how far away from home I am.

I huddled into a corner, trying to get comfortable. With nothing to do I experimented with the movements of my new body. After a few hours, the sunlight faded and Siesta returned with another maid, each pushing a large trolley of food with a tantalising smell.

I had my fill, mostly the meat related foods, and a little of the fruits. The sauces played flavours of miraculous quality and I had to wonder if it would have tasted the same on a human tongue.

Eating with the mouth of a Xer'Sai was interesting to say the least. Mostly I tore into the meat with my sharp pincer-like teeth and lifted my head up for gravity to help me swallow. The juices and sauces will then caress my tongue as the tender meat glides down my gullet. I did the same with the fruit, though they had no extraordinary taste worth mentioning. The flavours are surprisingly familiar, and I think they have the same fruits here as in my world. The same can be said about the meat. One distinct taste is the taste of lamb. I'd recognise that taste anywhere.

As it turns out, vegetables taste a little strange to me, and I've decided that I should play it safe, and not eat them. I'm also getting a bad vibe from them, as if through some instinct, I know I'm not supposed to eat them.

Siesta and the other maid left me to my meal and returned later to collect the trays. Siesta smiled openly as I thanked her for the food, but the other maid acted a lot more cautiously around me, despite Siesta's insistence that I will not harm her.

They left, and I'm alone again. Even though the food was delicious and warming, all it did was distract me for a little while. After the initial feeling of contentment from eating, I am back to the realisation that I'm not in my own world any more. Looking up through the windows of the room, I can make out _two_ moons in the sky; one with a pinkish hue, and the other is pale blue; the latter in likeness the moon I know. The fact that there are two moons in the sky instead of one just further confirms my theory.

I'm not on Earth any more.

I miss my friends.

I miss my family.

/* - */

 **AN: I hope this chapter gives more insight as to how Alexis is dealing with the whole situation. Also, from what I gathered, the moons are pink and white. At least that's what's described in the book. Tell me if I got it wrong.**

 **Edit: Thanks for the correction LordGhoststriker. The moons are now pink and pale blue. I know they're just the colours of the moons, but I don't like neglecting detail.**

 **Until next time.**


	4. The Beauty From Nightmares

**25th June 2016**

 **AN: It's been quite a bit of time, but here it is.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 4 – The Beauty From Nightmares

I'm in a dark place with no light and no sound. All I can hear is the tinnitus' high pitched ringing inside my head.

There is a pressure against me. I feel it. I can't really feel which part of my body it's pressing against, but I know there is a pressure against me.

As it presses, I already knew it took shape. I can't visually see it, but I knew it took shape. At first it became a blob, but it was already star shaped, as it is spiked like a sea urchin. But it is rod shaped, and a blob, and a squarish shape.

Yes. It all made sense. This is all normal.

The pressure increases. It increases because it was called to do so, like the infinite amount of times it had and will be told-whispered-commanded-enticed to.

The shapes disappear. In their place, I see myself.

Lifeless.

But of course I am. I'm already dead.

The pressure ripped me apart. My limbs, torso, head, all of it disassembled.

But its ok. I'm already dead.

The pressure sucked all my body parts back in. My flesh, bones, sinew and blood all melding together into one big blob. It wobbled and lurched, as if there is something inside that is trying it's damnedest to get out.

The blob stretched as the pressure commands, further and further until it is taut and about to be ripped apart. Then suddenly claws erupt from the stretched blob ripping free of its bindings and reaching straight at me.

The demonic hand is large enough for my head to fit in it, and it closed in.

I realise that I had my body all along, I just forgot to control it. But I did nothing to run. I did not move my feet, I did not look away. The claw had reached me, and it's sharp protrusions dug into the sides of my head. The pain was excruciating. I can feel my heartbeat sky rocket, beating hard and loudly against my ears.

For all that I wished the pain to stop, I didn't run.

I didn't try. I didn't even think of it.

I did not run.

/* - */

I woke. My mind cleared up in an instant. Everything had been a dream. It was okay, the pain that felt so **real**...was fake.

I didn't open my eyes. I just lay on my stomach, trying to shiver out the last of the nightmare's hold. My breath is steady, and my heart is already slowing back to a normal pace.

Now where are the blankets? Not that I feel particularly cold right now, but its more comfortable having something warming and soft draped over me while I slowly get out of bed. Speaking of which, why is my bed so hard? And why is it that every time I moved a little, it sounds like metal being scraped against stone?

I stretched full bodily, feeling relaxed and well rested. Again I hear the scraping sound and as I slowly opened my eyes, light, colour, and shapes filled my vision. I was met with an unfamiliar sight. Hold on a moment. Where am I? Where is my bed? Why am I sleeping on the stone cold floor? This isn't my room! My room is... is...

Strange.

I can't really remember much details about it. It is my own room, but I can't think of any details of it other than it's general shape and what I have in it; my bed, studying table, closet, a chair...

I brought my hand up to rub the sleep from my eyes, but stopped when it reached face level. My hands are **claws**.

 _...pincers digging into my skull. Pain. Pain! I can't run!_

I shivered and quickly shook my head to rid myself of the nightmare and the phantom pain. Events from yesterday took the nightmare's place instead.

That's right. I have become a Xer'Sai; Rek'Sai to be specific. And I am now in another dimension, far, far away from home...

Great. Five minutes into my morning and I'm already feeling depressed.

I slumped back down on to my stomach and closed my "eyes", sighing and feeling sorry for myself.

 _Caw! Caw-caw...caw-caw-caw..._

I opened my "eyes" at the sudden noise, quickly locating a raven resting upon my claw. Amazingly, it doesn't seem to be afraid at all at my appearance, or me noticing it. It's feet shuffled a little to get a better grip on my hard outer armour. It's head twitching from side to side, examining me with each eye.

"Rehhh..." I half grunted, half hissed at it, hoping to elicit a more telling reaction. All it did, however, was continue observing me, and occasionally preen itself with it's beak. Well that's kind of disappointing.

"Hm, you know little raven. I'm a Xer'Sai." I spoke to it idly. "That means I'm one of the most bad ass predator out there. You should be afraid."

 _Caw-caw-caw...caaaw..._

Amazing, it spoke back, but I have no clue what the heck it said. Had anyone else been in the room and observed this phenomenon, they would be laughing at the absurdity of an apex predator speaking gently with it's prey.

My stomach growled, notifying me about my growing hunger. I'm pretty sure I ate quite a bit last night, but that's comparing it to a human sized meal. I'm a lot larger now as Rek'Sai, so its only natural that I need more food. Looking at the bird, I sought for another reaction, seeing if it would flee if it realised that I'm hungry and would eat it.

Nope. Still just standing comfortably on my claws and cawing lightly from time to time. Maybe it's just stupid, but I thought birds are quite smart as animals.

Though I'm hungry, I had no plans to eat it. I know I'm a beast, built for eating other animals, but the human part of me just didn't want to experience tearing into the raw flesh of a living animal. I mean imagine how gruesome it is; the eyes, the intestines, the brain, all the gore.

Contradicting what I felt in my imagination, my stomach made it's emptiness known again.

Suddenly, the door to this classroom flung open and the calm, and peaceful atmosphere around the room dispelled immediately. Still, the bird refused to move, or take any action for self preservation. Either it's seen so much that it became numb to shock, or it is one dumb ass bird.

Turning my attention to the doorway, I spot my summoner, Louise. She had an anxious look on her face, but was quickly replaced with relief. Was she worried about me? That's sweet. I'm still figuring out her personality so its nice to discover this side of her.

Quickly following in her footsteps is the maid from yesterday, Siesta. She is pushing a trolley and the the aroma of food filled my senses.

Well, time to earn my keep.

"Good morning Master. I hope you slept well." I intoned, lowering my head in an attempt to show subservience. Hey I know it's a little demeaning of me as a human, but I really want to be on her good side. Since she's the one who summoned me here, she's the only lead I have for returning home. Not to mention she as the Master would be ensuring my continued welfare.

A small smile touched her lips as she replied. "Yes I did, thank you."

She briefly turned to the maid and waved her in.

"The usual amount of food a familiar gets per student wouldn't have filled you, I would imagine." Louise stated. "So I had registered with the school for extra. It goes without saying that equal measure of loyalty will be the least of what you will provide me in return."

"Of course Master." I said.

Just roll with it, just endure the degrading act. Even if I complain now, what grounds do I have? I have no influence here, and it'll cause me a lot of problems if I deviate from what the people here see as the norm.

As Siesta rolled the trolley up to me, I asked her gently, "Hello Siesta, how are you?"

Siesta looked up and smiled but said nothing as she lifted the covers off the plates of food and set them on a nearby table. I didn't take offence, in fact, that attitude gave me insight into the structure of the society here. It seems that talking as a lower classed citizen in this world is only reserved for their private time, or if a higher classed citizen spoke to them. It's like the old days where there are the peasants, the commoners, and the nobles and knights. Though I don't know if it's going to be exactly like that.

Wow, it's like I've been teleported into a textbook fairytale, which is fascinating as I've always wanted to experience fantasy first hand. Especially one with magic like this world. Just not as a creature from the Void and in a different gender to my own.

"Normally, a familiar's food would be plain and raw, but no one living under the care of the Vallière name should eat anything but cooked food. Be grateful familiar." Louise announced. She had her arms cross and her head held high, superiority drenched the air around her.

So, what? I'm an expensive pet? This is incredibly insulting but once again I remind myself of my position.

I forced myself into another bow and thanked her, "Thank you Master, you are most generous."

"Oh this is sickening."

A sudden feminine voice ran out and the room took pause.

After the initial shock, I located the source of the voice. It came from the raven that's still seated on my hand. Everyone had their eyes on it and it seemed to be sinking it's head into its body from the pressure of the stares.

Is it a familiar of one of the students here? What was it doing here? Was it spying on us? Who does it belong to?

Questions of suspicion crowded my thoughts, but before I could voice my concerns, the raven deigned to speak again. Well, more like screech.

"Oh for fu-...EAT ME!"

"Wha-!" As I began my exclamation, the bird was already in motion, flapping its wings as it flew at me.

With such a short distance between me and the raven, I couldn't react in time to dodge the small thing. It flew directly into my mouth and in a panic, I swallowed. I choked and coughed in an attempt to get the bird back out, but all that came out of my mouth were a few black feathers.

I just ate a live bird. Whole. I would feel distant and detached about eating live animals when I see other beasts do it, but to be the one eating one like this was confronting, and a little disgusting.

"What just happened!" demanded Louise , bewildered.

Siesta didn't say anything but her wide eyes and clutched hands in front of her mouth showed a kind of fear, or concern. I can't say what exactly was going through her head. Heck, I can't say what is going through my own. To be blunt: that was fucking weird.

I don't swear often, but this made no sense.

Yet again.

How do I always get myself into these situations?

"I'm afraid I have no answer myself." I admitted.

"That bird just spoke!" Louise exclaimed. "Why did it fly- Why did you eat-...What!"

"I share your confusion Master, but I really don't ha- Agh!" A sudden stab of pain in my stomach robed me of my speech. It isn't like those times when you have "stomach ache and need to go take a dump quick" kind of pain. More like a giant pin had embedded itself at my core kind of pain. The intensity is rune-branding level, like yesterday.

At some point through the pain I heard gasps, or cries of concern, but I didn't pay them any attention. I was too focused on the pain. I have a bad feeling that being in pain is going to become a regular occurrence at this rate.

There was nothing I can do, so I just laid on the floor, curled up against myself and waited for the pain to pass. Or for someone to get help, for fucks sake, why are they just standing there with their mouths hanging?

/* - */

Even after living for sixteen years in a world full of magic, this is by far the most bizarre scene Louise had ever woken up to witness. First, the bird on her familiar's claws talked, spewing some nonsense, then it flew into her familiar's mouth. Now this!

Before her lie her familiar, Rek'Sai, curled into a makeshift ball. Grunts of discomfort could be heard from it, but that didn't really register in her mind. There is something much more attention grabbing that's happening to her familiar.

It stopped moving, laying completely motionless, but still emitting soft moans from its apparent stomach ache. Then it started to flake. Bit by bit, the beast flaked into tiny pieces as if it was a shell all along.

The particles of Rek'Sai floated in the air as it drifted off of the main body. Each flake is reminiscent of a flower's petal. They slowly orbited the creature, and as more and more of the flakes came off, the more obscured the main body was behind the veil of purple particles, until it can't be seen any more.

The dancing petals slowly floated down while still orbiting Rek'Sai, some glowed and became purple embers, slowly burning away. All in all, it made for a very beautiful view, like an artistic performance.

As the burning embers faded, it revealed what was laying in the eye of the haze, and the creature's body can no longer be seen. Instead, there lay a pale woman donned in purplish blue armour that doesn't cover much. A part of Louise is judging how a woman of any status could dress themselves this way. The armour looked too skimpy, more like a perverted version of what a knight would wear.

It covered the head with a helmet that resembled the head of her familiar. The shoulders with spiked shoulder pads that looked as if it can be used to tackle bears. Her gauntlets ended in claws looking as deadly as a dragon's. Shards of purple and blue armour covered her sides and back, but left her breasts, midriff, and waist exposed.

Louise briefly wondered how those pieces stayed on the woman's body without any strings or fabric to hold them up. Upon closer inspection, it seems as if the "armour" that the woman wore is actually embedded into her skin or part of it. Re-examining the other armoured parts, the "helmet" is actually growths of armour coming out from her head. So are the shoulder spikes and clawed "gauntlets". Examining further south, Louise could see more of the embedded armour around the outer thighs and calves of the woman before ending in fully armoured and clawed feet. Her spine ended in an armoured tail that looked like a smaller version of her familiar's.

Thankfully, there are only females in this room and so the woman's state of undress isn't too much of a problem, though it would be bad if someone else walked in and saw them without any context.

Looking around, Louise spotted the maid standing dumbstruck and in awe from the magical display.

"Maid!" Louise commanded.

Siesta jumped, but snapped to attention after quickly gathering herself. "Y-yes Lady Vallière?"

"Bring some clothes that will fit her, quickly." Louise ordered.

"At once my Lady." Siesta quickly bowed and left in a fast but dignified pace as expected from the help.

As a proud member of the Vallière family, she would take up responsibility of all left in her charge, especially her familiar. A mage who couldn't even take care of her own familiar is a failure of a mage. And she can't be a failure ever again. She had succeeded in calling forth a worthy familiar, one of presence, ferocity, and intelligence, though of unknown origin.

And now, it seems her familiar had gone through some sort of metamorphosis and is currently unconscious. She'll get some answers out of her Rek'Sai when she wakes, but in the mean time, she'll continue taking care of her familiar as per her duty.

Walking over, Louise knelt down beside her familiar. Like a sneaking mouse, she twitched her head around to ensure no one can witness her. After a mental green light, she, with some difficulty due to her measly arm strength, uncurled Rek'Sai from her fetal position, and made sure her legs are closed and her calves bent back up to her backside for modesty. As Louise gripped Rek'Sai's arms to cross in front of her breasts, Louise took note of the size of the breasts.

She stared enviously at what seemed to be D cups. Great, even her own familiar now has a bigger bust than her. Louise's curiosity also brought her north from the exposed breasts and... of course, her familiar had to have a pretty face too. Louise didn't know whether to be proud of summoning a monster who can morph into a beautiful woman or to be annoyed that even her familiar seemed to be having more success as a woman than Louise.

Actually, Louise wasn't sure if what she's looking at can be truly considered a woman. She certainly has a curvy, feminine shape, but surely purple and blue growths of armour can't be normal on a human. Louise promptly scoffed at the idea of summoning a human, that would have been ridiculous. Even she can't fail that badly.

So what is her familiar? Ever since yesterday, her summon, Rek'Sai, has been an enigma. Though she didn't show it too openly, she was too ecstatic yesterday to even stop and wonder what it was that she had actually summoned.

She hasn't ever heard or seen anything quite like a Xer'Sai. At first sight, it was quite intimidating, especially when an ominous and chilling scream precedes its summon. However, its attitude was quite tame and controlled, not at all like a ruthless beast as its appearance might suggest. Whether that was due to the effects of the Summoning or because of it's own intelligence, Louise didn't know but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

And now, not even having the time to get used to the strange creature that is her familiar, it had morphed into a human-like appearance. Never had she heard of anything like that too. Maybe it was like the Rhyme Dragons of old, where they possessed innate magical powers that allow fantastical feats such as this.

Louise's heart beat a little faster at the thought of that. Could it be that she's somehow summoned an ancient and long forgotten specie? Or even discovered a new never before seen magical beast? Louise can't begin to believe her luck. With one summoning, she has the potential to turn her life around. She will have to take extremely good care of her familiar. Not that she ever planned not to.

She still had many questions regarding her familiar in her heart, but she figured she could wait for Rek'Sai to wake first and in stable condition before asking her about them. Now, she has to get to class and so maybe she'll have more time to spend with her familiar the next day. There will be be no classes then so it'll be the perfect opportunity.

A soft knock at the door and a timid "Lady Vallière?" informed Louise of the maid's return. Right on time. She called the maid in and instructed her to look after her familiar until she wakes up, then the maid will be free to return to her duties.

Louise got up and left for class, feeling anxious to test her magic. She's made headway by successfully summoning an apparently power familiar, so she's hopeful that her success in general magic had improved.

She had to wonder, what kind of element did a Xer'Sai represent? What does it mean for her own elemental affinity?

Shaking her head to clear her mind in preparation for the class, she strode on with purpose to the lecture on Earth magic.

/* - */

 **AN: Next chapter should have some fighting in it if that's your thing.**

 **Until next time.**


	5. Broken Minds, Broken Hearts

**8th July 2016**

 **AN: First, let me apologise for lying last chapter about there being action this chapter. I thought I can fit it in, but the chapter would be way too long. So it should definitely be in the next one. As a silver-lining, this chapter's longer than all the other ones.**

 **Second, it seems there are some concerns about the sudden Monster Girl morph of Alexis from the last chapter. Well, just keep reading and you might be surprised again. I hope last chapter's "surprise" doesn't ruin this story though. I don't think a single chapter can make or break a story…can it?**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 5 – Broken Minds, Broken Hearts

"Rek'Sai! Where have you been!?" Louise's voice rang way too loudly for a person of her size.

My eyes looked around the grand food hall but people didn't so much as take a second glance in our direction before returning to their meals and conversations.

"And you!" She turned to Siesta next to me who flinched as Louise switched targets. "You were supposed to be looking after my familiar, not taking her around to do your work with you!"

Louise was so close to me, like a oasis in the desert that I can never reach no matter how hard I chase. I wanted to scream, to reach out to her. Scream out and call for help, for right now my body had become a woman's, and…

/* - */

I felt my eyes forcibly open, jolting me from what felt like a nap. My abdomen contracted, my neck strained to lift my head up, my hands pushed from the floor behind me and I sat up. I could feel every muscle's tension in detail, and it felt somewhat strange. I had not wanted to sit up straight away as the room looked to be spinning and I could lose my balance any time. But I did so anyway. Oh wait, it wasn't the room that was spinning, just my eyes. Silly me.

My mind was still somewhat foggy and the details on why I was sleeping and what I was doing. I almost missed the feeling of cloth slipping down from my body and on the floor. A slight shake of my head was enough to clear my thoughts and prior events came rushing back to me. My waking up, Louise and Siesta walking in, food, then…that raven!

It flew into my mouth and I accidentally swallowed it. Did I get some kind of food poisoning? I made a mental note not to eat magical talking ravens that scream 'eat me!'.

Well it looks like I have recovered and I motioned to stand up from my sitting position.

A flash of purple caught the corner of my eye. I looked down and successfully relocated the flash of purple and…hair? Since when did Rek'Sai have hair? And…BOOBS! Er, I mean, why do I have breasts? At least I'm human again, kind of.

Tearing my eyes away from my _voluptuous_ and very _naked_ form…Hm…Er, tearing my eyes away, I began studying my body's build. I have lean muscles everywhere under smooth skin that doesn't seem to have much, if any, fat under it. I found parts of my skin are still armoured like Rek'Sai. My entire hand and forearm is a more humanoid version of a Xer'Sai's. My calf is also armoured similarly, ending in talons. It is much like a bird's, though much thicker. Likely designed that way to support my weight.

Okay fate, please make up your mind. All this body switching is ridiculous, and after several attempts and still not getting it right is really start to grow old. How can you fail so hard? That or you're having fun with screwing with my physical gender and form at my expense. Now I'm some sort of Monster Girl and I do _not_ appreciate it.

An amused but quiet giggle echoed around me, although I can't place where it came from. Alarmed, I snapped my head around trying to pinpoint the laughter's origin, but all I succeeded in doing was flinging strands of long hair into my eyes.

Parting my hair from my eyes and placing them back to their original position, I see Siesta snoozing quietly in a chair near the entrance of the room. Looking at her state, I knew it couldn't be her who giggled. Unless she was doing so in her dreams.

A slight draft sent a shiver up and down my body, which reminds me of my blatant nudity. It seems, since I've lost my beastly body, I've also lost my resistance to the cold. I've never felt cold when I was a full blown Xer'Sai. An even more pressing issue is my bareness itself. I may be a girl now but regardless of what genitals I possess, I still have human decency. So I looked around and spotted the makeshift blanket that was covering me while I was unconscious. I quickly wrapped that around me and decided on my next course of action, which is to fondle my boo-

No brain! **Bad** brain! I am not an adolescent twerp going through puberty any more!

 _But you're a virgin._

I know that! Shut up brain!

 _Okay…_

After silently berating myself of my inappropriate thoughts, and worrying if I've finally lost a few marbles, I decided on my **real** course of action.

Trying to not make too much noise, I shuffled over to the trays of food Siesta had laid out for me. I paused as I reached for the metallic cover that's placed to keep the food warm. The surface is so shiny I can see my own reflection.

Blue growths of a hard material plated themselves from my forehead and reached backwards over my purple hair. I reached up and touched them, but I didn't feel much other than a slight pressure to let me know that it's being touched. They framed a triangular face with vibrant purple coloured eyes, a nose, and a small mouth with a purplish tinge at the lips. Overall, my face seem to be pretty chiselled, fitting the theme by looks of the defined muscles of my body.

It's not that I'm super muscular, though I don't lack much either, only that I don't seem to have a shred of fat on me. A perfect description of my physique would be 'predator'. Built for speed but still have enough strength to pack a punch. It's as if fate tried to compensate the warping of my body and reality by giving me high levels of physical fitness and aesthetics.

Damn am I fit, and kind of hot. Even with the warped reflection of the cover's curve, I can tell I would be turning heads. Which scared me because it really hit home how totally different I've physically become.

Putting my problems aside for now, I uncovered my surprisingly still warm meal. Given how dark the sky had gotten outside the windows, I'd say that the temperature of the food were regulated by magic through the magical plates and covers. Seriously, magic makes everything too simple and convenient for my tastes. But then magic is just their mainstream science I guess. It just follows a different set of rules and laws.

I gingerly took a nearby seat and planted it softly in front of the table of food. Without any utensils I made do with my claws and holding the plates up to have gravity deliver the food too my mouth. There were no serviettes or anything of the like to wipe my hands with, so I refrained from directly touching the food.

It wasn't until I was almost finished that I noticed the portion I just ate. It should have been big enough to fill four to five people. Where does it all go? How can it all physically fit inside me? The best explanation I can come up with is that it's just magic. There is no way any normal person can consume the same amount of food meant for something the size of Rek'Sai.

Finishing the predominately meat based meal, I sat back in my chair, basking in the afterglow from excellently cooked food. I should tell Siesta to thank the cook for me and send my compliments. Best to make friends and connections so that I may call for favours should I- _when_ I need them.

If fate is trying to throw a whole new world at me, I'll face it with all my intellect. I **will** make it home. I have to believe in that, else I don't think I will make it in this world.

Taking a glance at the sky beyond through the windows, I've decided that I should gently wake Siesta and ask if there are any spare clothes for me to wear. I should probably relieve her of her duty of looking after me. From what I have gathered, she's supposed to be a maid of this school, not mine nor Louise's. She and I may be strangers to one another, but that doesn't mean I should cause any more problems for her. Besides, she's been nothing but friendly and very accepting of me, especially when we first met. I would be considered a dangerous monster at first glance but she let her guard down around me after a very short time.

Wrapping the blanket tighter around me, I tip-toed over to Siesta's sleeping form. As I reached her, I noticed a book in her lap. I twisted my head in an odd angle, trying to read the book but found that I had no idea what language it was written in. I filed that bit of information to the back of my head for later and gently shook her shoulder, careful not to scratch her or her uniform with my clawed fingers.

Siesta's eyes fluttered open and she brought her hands up to rub the sleep from them. Immediately, she noticed me but judging from her expression, she didn't recognise me immediately.

"Miss Rek'Sai?" She asked tentatively.

So it's 'Miss' now is it? Its funny how appearance can change the way people address you. Which goes to show that there is a whole slew of assumptions that come with it as well.

"Just Rek'Sai is fine." Too late to correct my name, I went with my character's, finally testing out my voice. It is similar to the voice I had as a Xer'Sai, but clearer and without all the raspy and dry qualities. The compulsive clicking is all gone too and I welcomed the change. It's as if this was the voice I was meant to have, and the monstrous version is this voice but had gone through a sound editor.

"Are you alright? What happened to you?" I can tell the worry in her voice is genuine and from the heart, and not one born from duty as a maid or fear of disappointing a superior.

Such a sweet girl, how very nice of her. As to her question, I have no idea myself, and I have no reason to lie or make up anything. In the League of Legends lore, Rek'Sai never had any other forms other than her monstrous one. None of the lore from any other characters or items can change her the way I did. So I just decided to tell her that I don't know what happened to me.

"I'm fine, Siesta, thank you. This is just an alternate form I can take." I said. Wait. Did I just say that? What ever happened to just being honest?

"Oh, well you certainly look very different. But in a good way! Very…healthy." She praised, although uncertain of the exact term to use.

 _Aw, isn't that cute? We could tease her a little._

Yeah, that can be fun, but I'm not that kind of person. So no, brain, we're not teasing her.

"Oh? So you've seen the _goods_ have you?" I raised an eyebrow and lowered my eyelids in what I imagine to be an alluring gaze. I parted the blanket around me a little but was careful not to reveal too much.

What? Why did we do that brain?

 _We're insane. We just do things that we think up._

Yeah but I'm a guy. I don't do that kind of…hot woman's…seduction…thing.

 _Just roll with it._

This doesn't seem right…

Siesta blushed a vibrant red and averted her eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Haha, that's quite alright. Then, do you or the staff have any spare clothes?" I asked, my tone a lot less playful than before.

"Ah yes! I've brought some over from the staff's storage." She said quickly, happy to change the topic. "Lady Vallière told me to bring you some and watch over you while you recovered."

She reached down to her lap to present me with the spare clothes but paused upon seeing her book atop them. Her blush seem to deepen as she quickly shoved a bookmark into the open pages and snapped the book shut.

Huh, she must be embarrassed about her genre of choice.

 _Yeah, maybe it's a **naughty** book. Hehehe._

No brain. We are not going there. We should respect her priva-

"Oooh, what book are you reading there?" My voice is back to a more mischievous tone. My eyes glanced over what I assume to be the title of the book, but since I can't read the language here, it was a pointless endeavour to decipher its meaning.

"'Her Mistress, Her Maid'" I read aloud.

Lousy guess there brain.

 _'Guess'? It says the title right there._

We can't read the language of this world, genius.

 _Oh yes we can. At least I can. Me. Brain._

Really now? I really doubt tha-

Siesta squealed as she tried her best to hide the book behind her and at the same time hide her face as well. From behind her hand, her side-turned face can be seen flushing entirely red, just dying from embarrassment.

Wait, since _when_ could we read!?

 _Since you found me. The fractured off part of your brain. Your long lost brain fragment!_

Bullshit. I don't understand what is going on any more.

"Judging by the title, I'd say that's a forbidden book. A forbidden book about a forbidden looove." I dragged the last part out, watching her squirm in her seat.

"Please Rek'Sai! Please don't tell anyone!" Siesta begged as she finally found the courage to look back at me. "I'll lose my job! My reputation!"

"Ssshhh…Calm down." I hushed reassuringly. "We're friends right? We can keep this just between the two of us."

Siesta nodded her head enthusiastically, her eyes sparked with hope, though I think it was just her tears that glimmered.

Okay, this has gone way too out of hand. Brain, you've done enough damage. I'm stepping in.

I tried to open my mouth to console Siesta, to tell her that whatever she wants to read is fine and that it's no business of mine. But as soon as I tried, I found that I couldn't. My mouth just won't budge. My expression won't change. I can't stop my hand that is currently reaching up to Siesta's shoulder.

Um, brain? What is going on?

…

Hello? Brain? Hey, this isn't funny.

There was no response, not from my body nor from my mind. I'm starting to freak out. First the reality I inhabit had gone out of my control, then my body's appearance, and now my very own actions. I'm not sure if it can get any worse than this.

"And as **friends** , we do _things_ for each other, right?" My mouth opened and closed, forming words in a very suggestive manner not of my choosing. I've been tied up, gagged, and thrown to the back seat of my own body and this…this 'fragment' of my brain had decided to take the wheel instead.

My upper body leaned in close, the blanket around my shoulders drooped to reveal skin as I did so. My face and my chest invaded Siesta's personal space, leaving not much of it left in her control. She leaned back to try to recover some space of her own, but the chair she sat on conspired against her.

Siesta's blush hasn't subsided at all, every action my body took and every word that came out of my mouth just either sustains or deepens her embarrassment.

"W-What kinds of t-things!?" She couldn't control the decibels of her voice any more, her imagination no doubt running rampant. What she imagined, I'm sure I don't want to know.

I leaned even further in, blankets sliding dangerously close down my back and my breasts to reveal what I had no problem revealing as a man. My eyelids hung half closed, their smoky look accompanied by an enticing smile.

My mouth parted slowly and I can feel her eyes glued to my lips, or maybe further down. Huh, so she's a little curious of girls as well? Or maybe she was more than a little curious from the start, given her choice of reading material.

Uh, what am I thinking about at a time like this? My reputation is about to be crushed into bits and pieces. The only person in this world who I can consider a friend is about to see me in a whole new light. A dim light with pink hued smoke rolling slowly across the red carpeted floor, a dark backdrop with velvet curtains on the side and everything else that screams seduction.

All this specie, gender, and personality swapping is really messed up as well as messing with my head and priorities.

With my mouth still parted open and as I got ever closer to Siesta's face, I can see her slightly part her lips as well and got a little closer of her own volition.

Are…are we going to kiss!?

Brain! No! Make it stop!

I don't even know Siesta that well yet. And why the hell is she leaning in for the kiss as well?

 _She wants us 'cause we're hot. We'll be getting to know Siesta pretty soon…If you know what I-_

 **Yes** I know what you mean. Stop controlling my body!

 _Oh baby this whole situation is too late for salvaging._

I don't care! Let me just play this off as some kind of joke. Please. I beg you, let me have my life back!

Siesta's eyes are wide, staring into mine so intently that I can see the mix of fear, wonder, and…is that longing? Her breath was short and halted. I can feel her heart beat through the vibrations in the air as every pulse pushed out against her skin. My lips are within a few centimetres from Siesta's now, but the final stretch seem to draw out excruciatingly into eternity.

Suddenly, my head swerved to the side, dodged the impending kiss and planted a quick peck on Siesta's cheek. She blinked, confused and not sure what to make of the situation now. My right eye winked and suddenly the blankets around me dropped from my body, but just as quickly as they had become visible for all to see, my hands were already making off with the clothes from Siesta's lap to cover my self.

Giving her a playful smile, my mouth moved. "As thanks for taking care of me." I turned around and started dressing myself, leaving Siesta to her stunned state.

The first item of clothing to be worn were the underwear and bra. As my body was not under my control, I had an eyeful of my own perky breasts. I couldn't look away. It felt as if I was spying on some woman's body and it made me feel like a pervert. However, this body is my own so there are some grey morals around this issue.

My non-human limbs didn't do too much to hinder me. How my brain fragment knew how to put on a bra was a mystery to me. The biggest issue, however, was my tail. The best I could do was have my underwear hiked up as far as it can go and let my tail hang out from it. It felt uncomfortable and in the end my underwear just slips down because of my tail.

Giving up on them, my hands stripped me of the underwear, leaving just my bra on and proceeded to put on the maid uniform the Academy can spare me. After I'm done, my eyes roamed over myself giving myself a once over. I noticed that my tail poked out from beneath the dress' hem, which quickly darted back under the confines of the dress.

Apart from that and my very visible clawed hands, my monstrous origins are hidden, even my spiked shoulders can be passed off as some sort of shoulder pads by the uniform's puffy shoulder design. The other visible monstrous parts are the armoured growths from my head. The tiara with the uniform will not be enough to hide it. So, all-in-all, I guess the final verdict is that I shouldn't be plainly visible for anyone except for Louise or Siesta to see. Anyone else would freak out and my story is getting a bit too long to explain in a passing conversation.

My body twirled around to faced the still stunned Siesta. "How do I look?"

Finally jolting out of her daze, she replied. "G-Good!" She stammered out, but I think her mind is too cooked to find more words to supplement her compliment.

Capitalising on that, my mouth spoke again. "So, do you think you can get me a hat or something to cover these with?" My hand moved up to point at the protrusions growing out of my head. Then at my other arm where my human skin melds into Rek'Sai's blue shell.

"Y-Yes. I'm sure there's a bandanna or a hat in the storage somewhere." She said, shaking her head to rid herself of the last of her stutter. "And some working gloves as well."

"Let's go get one then." I said.

"H-Huh? You're coming too?" She asked.

"Of course!" I chirped in a friendly tone. "Once I can hide my head and hands, I can help you!"

"But, you're Lady Vallière's familiar, not a member of the Academy's staff." She reasoned. "There's no need for-"

"Ah. No one will know I'm not part of the staff." My claws waved her concerns away. "Besides, I need to pay you back for all you've done for me. I'm pretty sure I've taken a whole day from your normal duties, so it's only right for me to pay you back."

Without waiting for her response, my legs strode me out of the classroom and into night, in search of the staff storage.

"Wait! Rek'Sai!" Siesta's voice shouted in protest behind me.

I wish I could Siesta, but I have no control over what I'm doing any more.

/* - */

"I am helping Siesta. To repay her kindness." My brain fragment explained to Louise before Siesta could figure out her reply.

Louise's frown deepened. "First, in case you have forgotten, you will refer to me as Master. Second, you are my familiar. You are summoned to aid _me_ , not the help." Thankfully her voice had quieted down somewhat, but still loud enough in hope of sounding commanding.

It certainly worked on Siesta. I could see her beside me with her head down. She trembled slightly every few seconds. To me, Louise had just sounded like an uptight child, so she had no effect over me. Much less so for my brain fragment who was currently in control of my actions.

The situation my brain fragment had gotten me into wasn't all bad, but the thing that gets to me the most is my complete and utter lack of control over anything. I can't even control my blinking to get out a hint of my distress. Sometimes my brain fragment would not blink for minutes on end just to annoy me. I mean all of this is bad enough, she didn't have to rub it in.

 _Oh yes I do._

I told you I'm ignoring you.

 _And how's that working out for you?_

Shut. Up! You're in my head, that's not exactly fair!

Wait a minute. Did I just call you a 'she'? Come to think of it, your voice inside my head does sound rather feminine. I'm sure I don't ever think with that voice. Even this monologue is in my original male voice, despite being all in my mind.

…

Oh, so _you're_ ignoring me now?

…

What are you planning anyway? Why take over my body? What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

"My apologies, _Master_." My mouth had a hint of a snarl. "But I think even familiars of the Vallière house must be chivalrous and honourable in order to represent their master's prestige." My brain fragment had fluidly woven Louise's status into the argument in a diplomatic manner.

Uuuaaargh! **Answer me!**

If I hadn't been so frustrated, I would have noticed my brain fragment's apparent knowledge of Louise's family's status.

Louise stared into my eyes a little longer. As if searching for any hint of dishonesty before promptly giving up and looked away with a huff. Arms crossed and refusing to meet my gaze she announced her decision. "G-Good! I-I expected nothing less from my familiar. But you still acted without my orders. I'll let it go this once. Go and help the maid, but if you act without my say so again then there will be consequences!"

The last of her sentence was pronounced with a sharp turn on her heels as she strode away, trying to maintain a dignified grace to her decidedly harried steps.

I turned to see Siesta staring at me with her mouth agape, and with wide eyes gleaming with stars.

"That was incredible!" Siesta gushed. "I mean, you didn't just get out of trouble. You got me out along with you, and without upsetting a noble!"

Noble? So it really is like olden times. I guess it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume that even the help working in a noble's academy are part of the somewhat oppressed faction. Being a familiar myself, I guess I should be a part of the oppressed faction. So standing up to a noble like Louise would be pretty amazing in the eyes of someone like Siesta.

 _Oh there will be **plenty** of standing up to nobles, hehe…_

No. No more getting us into trouble or going on little adventures, brain! Or whoever you are!

But, purely to spite me, my eyes moved searchingly. I told Siesta that I was going to serve my tray of food over where my eyes spotted their target, and my body began moving in the direction of bunch of students sitting at one of the tables.

As my legs drew me closer, I noticed that the students here all seem to gather around one individual who is currently basking in their attention. From my angle behind him, I can't really make out his facial features, but from his dramatic posing with one hand below his chin and the other panned out to his side, I don't need much else to tell him apart from the other students. This guy was born to act in plays.

"So, Guiche! Who're you going out with now?" Said a voice from the audience.

"Yeah, who's your lover?" Another voice from the audience.

'Gish'? Sounds french. The closest sounding name I know is Guiche.

As in a Guiche Piercing.

Which is a piercing at the perineum.

You know, that part between your anus and your balls. An ass-piercing.

His parents must be proud.

The table began to mutter amongst themselves and occasionally try to ask this pierc- I mean Guiche another question.

Slowly, with one hand still under his chin in a calm manner, he raised his other hand and placed his index finger to his lips. The display was theatrical and dripping with drama, but everyone present seem to drink it up like water.

Guiche's actions had put a spell of silence over the table, and only he alone was allowed to speak. He casually flicked his blonde tress of mid-length hair before addressing his audience. "Go out? Lover? I hold no woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

His vacant hand had been unnecessarily gesturing half his sentences out for him. And the slow and dramatic way he speaks is really getting on my already frayed nerves. I'm like an elastic band that had been stretched too far; ready to snap in any situation. Only my lack of control over my everything but thought is preventing me from doing so.

 _Bleh. I hate this guy._

I'm right there with you on this one, 'brain'. But I wouldn't go so far as to _hate_ him…

 _Hmph. You'll see._

Well, it's not like I have any **choice** in the matter now _is there_?

 _Aaaw, such **venom**. It wouldn't do to have you **bite** now would it? So, I shall continue to restrain you until you behave yourself._

Yo- _You're_ the one who's causing me all this frustration!

 _A-a-ah~. That's no way to speak to your handler. You'll just have to stay there until you calm yourself._

Raaagh!

My internal incoherent scream fell on deaf ears. My body simple continued doing the bidding of my 'brain fragment', whose identity is suspicious, without a care in the world.

Guiche shifted in his seat and my eyes immediately darted over to his hips, scrutinising every fold of his dark-grey trousers that isn't obscured by his black cloak.

Soon enough, a small glass bottle with some purple liquid inside of it slipped out from his trousers' pocket and rolled off his seat. It hit the floor with a almost inaudible clink but fortunately didn't break nor did it even crack.

Ignoring my food serving duties, I walked over to pick up the bottle.

What, I'm being made to steal from people now? Even if you don't like this person, there's absolutely no need to steal from him, 'brain'.

My hand tapped Guiche's shoulder. "You've dropped this."

I placed the bottle in front of him with perhaps a bit too much force than necessary. Now that I'm closer and to the side of him, I can see him more clearly. He has light bluish grey eyes and a confident smile on his face. However, the moment my hand placed the bottle in front of him, his face transformed into one of recognition, then panic, then, just as quickly, his face was replaced by the confident facade he had.

In a mock nonchalant manner, or maybe just in an overly acted out nonchalant manner, he plucked the bottle and returned it to me.

"I'm afraid you have been mistaken. This doesn't belong to me." He said in an even more nonchalant attitude.

"No." I declared flatly, pushing his hands away. "I saw this fall out of your pocket. It is my _duty_ to return it to its rightful owner."

Guiche turned around in his seat to face me a little more directly. He had a ghost of a frown in his expression but it switched to one of…Ugh, is he checking me out?

One, I'm a guy. Two, that face is disgusting. I've never appreciated others of my gender doing this sort of thing before, but to be the one experiencing this first hand sends shivers down my spine. If I had enough control over my body that is.

He got out of his seat to fully face me.

"Maybe it fell out of _your_ pocket? I'm sure it is a gift some secret admirer had slipped into your uniform. And I'm sure a lady as **breathtaking** as you would have many. A perfume would be the perfect gift to complement your **beauty**." Guiche's eyes are finally looking up to mine by the end of the sentence.

As my hand resists his insistence about the ownership of the bottle, he takes advantage of that. Quickly gripping my hand and placing the bottle in my palm in the process, he brought my hand up to his lips and gave it a quick peck.

I really want to vomit. 'Brain', can we vomit please? I don't care if you do it for me, just please hurl the five people meal I ate in his face.

 _As much as I'd love to, no. I need to do something first._

And **what** exactly is that?

 _So impatient! Just sit back and enjoy the show._

I'd enjoy it more if you cover his face with puke. I can literally feel the rape from his eyes alone. He's not even subtle.

I quickly withdrew my hand from this Ass-piercing's face. Yes, 'Ass-piercing'. His name is now Ass-piercing.

The audience at the table began edging closer now, most likely captivated by his unashamed advances towards me.

"I never said this was a perfume. Why would you already assume this bottle with no label is a bottle of perfume?" 'Brain' asked in mock confusion. The crowd started muttering amongst themselves. "Unless this is yours, and you already knew?"

"N-Nothing of the sort!" Guiche's bravado is faltering now. "It is simply an educated guess!"

"Wait, isn't Montmorency really good at making potions and perfumes?" A voice from the audience said.

"Oh yeah, come to think of it, I've seen Guiche alone with Montmorency quite a few times." Said another voice from the audience.

"So you _are_ going out with someone! With Montmorency no less!" A few more people are joining in from other tables now, having over heard the commotion here.

To me, those claims does put Guiche in a suspicious light, but it's not really enough to pin anything on him. But it seems the crowd actually _wants_ some sort of scandal to happen.

"Is this true?" Another voice asked, but this time right beside me.

Looking in the voice's direction, I examine the brunette next to me. She is wearing a brown cloak around her uniform. Her hands clutched against her chest with an almost teary expression.

"K-Katie!" Guiche exclaimed, losing all of his innocent pretences. "N-No, Katie, that isn't tru-"

"You liar! You've been with Montmorency the whole time and yet…all those things you said to me…You…you…" Katie loses her self in sobs, tears already coating the floor between her feet. She looked so heart broken that I really wanted to comfort her, I can't stand looking at someone so lost and devastated.

"Katie…It isn't true, what they're saying-" Just as Guiche tries to explain himself to assure Katie of his lies, he was cut short by another girl pushing her way into the spectacle.

The growing crowd made way for her, but immediately formed back up into a tight circle after she passed through. The only space left is the stage where the three are left standing in their drama. The boy, the girl, and the newcomer, obviously here to stir the pot.

The immediate thing I noticed about the new girl who's entered the stage are the long and tightly curled locks of blonde hair. No-one else here had her kind of hair style so it stood out. Next was her expression, and if there was any description I'd propose as a translation to her face, it would be 'death by stabbing'.

"What's the meaning of this Guiche? Why are you denying my gift to you? And who is this?" Asked 'death by stabbing' in rapid fire. Her face got more murderous after each question.

"Mo-Montmoren-" Guiche tried to speak again, only to have his head forcibly pivoted to the side. A loud slap was heard, following that was only the screaming silence of the entire food hall, and Katie's sobbing.

A hand shaped print branded Guiche's face with shame. He reached up to touch it gently and looked wide-eyed at Katie.

Katie looked as if she was about to burst open with more words, but instead she hurriedly made her way through the crowd, wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Guiche!" The now named Montmorency all but yelled. "You actually went behind my back to court with another girl? To take advantage of a first year at that!"

Guiche flinched several times throughout Montmorency's seething questions and accusations, but still tried to speak and assuage her. "No, Montmorency! My heart only belongs to you! I would nev-"

His speech was cut short once again as he was slapped, but in the other direction. Now two red palm prints adorn his face. It was almost artistic really.

Montmorency stomped off with a huff, leaving in the same direction Katie left. I'm guessing she's going to console the poor girl and find companionship in their shared misfortune. That's really kind of her to be so thoughtful. It makes me wonder why she dated someone like Guiche in the first place. It doesn't seem like a character such as Guiche was deserving of a caring soul like Montmorency.

 _Pffft! Hahaha!_

What are _you_ laughing at?

My 'brain fragment' snickers at me before falling silent again and I was left to grumble quietly in my mental corner that I was locked in.

With both of the girls gone, the only remaining actor in the scene had his head down and trembling on stage. He had tried to two time the girls, and now he is pay the price for it heavily; publicly shamed.

The crowd started to disperse as there was nothing else left to watch. And while this was an interesting situation to watch unfold, I'm not sure why my 'brain fragment' went to such lengths to expose Ass-piercing's crime. In fact, how did you know what to look for exactly?

 _This world is magic, and so am I. What else needs explaining?_

Wait so you admit that you're not just some split personality of me then?

 _Oops. Did I imply that?_

There's no need to pretend any more. **Who are you?**

 _Figure that out yourself. But for now, we're just getting to the good part~!_

This voice in my head's sing-song attitude is really starting to grate on my nerves. Wait, what did she say?

"You!" Guiche's pitch jumped up a notch. My eyes glanced over at his direction, as if to challenge him passive-aggressively.

"Yes?" I smirked.

'Brain'? What are you doing? You've already done enough damage, please stop escalating the situation. There's already enough shit as it is.

"This is all your fault!" Guiche declared.

What?

"And how is it my fault exactly?" I asked, goading him on.

"If it wasn't for you tactlessness, two girls' reputation would not have been tarnished!" He said.

"Funny thing, it wasn't _their_ reputation that had been tarnished. It's yours. And now you're butt hurt about it and therefore blaming it on me." I analysed. "That just further demonstrate your utter lack of understanding of other people's feelings. It's not their reputation you should be worried about, it's their feelings. Because of your unfaithful acts, you have hurt them both."

"Hah! What do you know about the lives of the **noblility** , _commoner_?" Guiche sneered.

Looking around the crowd, my eyes scanned their reactions. It seems the crowd just hadn't had enough entertainment wrought from the misfortune of others yet, and so they seem to be agreeing with Guiche. These kids are unbelievable. I'm really starting to not like them.

"What are you doing here serving food anyway? From the looks of you, I bet you are hired here to…help 'relieve' the staff of their burdens." Guiche continued to sneer, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. The crowd snickered and laughed at 'joke'. "Were you hired _personally_ by the Headmaster, I wonder?"

This. Fucking. Bastard.

These. Fucking. **People**.

What the fuck is this place? I don't get how morally askew they all are!

My heart beat faster, my fists clenched and I gritted my teeth…All by my own will…

But I don't have time to contemplate the implications. I had something to say. I'm going to give this ass-piercing a piece of my mind.

"What a hypocrite! You call your self nobility yet you tell such uncouth 'jokes'." I seethed. The crowd immediately shuts up, all looking at Guiche for a response, but I wasn't done yet. "You distance yourself from the common folk and raise yourself above others. Yet your actions against those two poor girls put you below even _trash_! If the ways of nobility is to act like someone, no, some **thing** of your example, then I'm glad to be called a 'commoner'!"

I all but spat my words at him and he did not take it well one bit. But what's he going to do? Go home and tell his mum?

The crowd gasped and Guiche froze at my harsh words. A few seconds passed but it felt like the world had come to a stop.

Finally Guiche's face contorted to one of sheer anger.

"The audacity! How **dare** you speak to a noble like that you ungrateful plebeian!" Guiche yelled in a nearly undignified manner. "I shall teach you the respect due to your betters. I challenge you to a duel!"

The crowd gasped again. Even in his anger, Guiche managed to gesture his intent in the most dramatic of ways. As he stated his challenge, he pointed at me. And not just any pointing. He drew a half circle in the air with his finger before it finally reached me.

"You'd sink so low to just challenge a 'commoner'?" I asked.

"Don't worry. Even dirty commoners like you are worthy of redemption." Guiche said with a hand on his hip and the other in the air. "If you apologise now, I'll be forgiving."

"Fuck you." I spat out.

The crowd gasped again. Really, is gasping all they can do?

Guiche's expression was one of shock, but he quickly reined it in. "I'll take that as a no then. So you accept my challenge?"

"Challenge. Accepted." I grounded out.

"Very well!" He exclaimed.

With a dramatic wave and a flap of his cloak, he pointed at me again. This time with a rose in his hand. Where the hell did he pull that out from? His ass-piercing?

"I'll state the terms of the duel! We will meet at the Vestri Court as soon as we can and duel until one of us can no longer battle, or honourably surrenders." Guiche announced. "I will be kind in the event that I win. I will be merciful even to the likes of you. I will allow you to apologise and serve me for a month as payment for your misdeeds. Now, state your terms in the… _unlikely_ event that you win this duel."

I stated my terms simply. " _When_ I win, you will denounce yourself as a noble."

/* - */

 **AN: I think I'm all over the place whenever I write. I read a lot of different styles and I like a lot of them, but I kind of try to cram everything in when I write because I like the styles. A novice mistake I'm sure, but I've yet to find my own style of writing to stick to. Guess I can only practice to gain more experience before I can grow into my own style.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, and that the mood and atmosphere wasn't strewn everywhere too messily. Also, a reminder that the status of my story can be seen in my profile. You can see its percentage of completion and when it was last updated. I keep that updated as I write so be sure to check it out if you want to keep tabs on where I'm at.**

 **Please leave a review if you have anything to say about my writing, or want to just correct some simple mistakes I make with spelling/grammar. I appreciate that a lot.**

 **Until next time.**


	6. Instinct

**26th July 2016**

 **AN: 100+ Follows! Thank you guys so much for the support! As with many other authors, your continued patronage really motivates me. As such, this is now my main story I'll be writing (and making mistakes in). I think I'll do a complete rewrite of my other one (DIRK) when I'm finished with this one.**

 **Wait, what's that? Did I just say "finish"? That implies that this will have an ending, right? And _that_ implies that there will be a plot, right?**

 **Well yes. You are correct. After thinking and brainstorming a little bit, I've come up with a not-too-mind-blowing, pretty average, overarching plot for this story. As opposed to when I initially wrote the first few chapters where I just wrote it for fun. Then I found out that writing for fun makes fun content. So I decided to give this kind of writing a dive and see where it takes me.**

 **In other news, I went back over the past five chapters and proof read them. I saw quite a few mistakes. I corrected them and maybe changed the wording of a few sentences a bit, but nothing important or plot changing had been done. So current readers don't need worry, and those who are just starting to read the story, enjoy the more polished version.**

 **Now without further delay, I give you Chapter 6 – Guiche's _Horrible_ Death By  Torn Anus, er I mean: Instinct.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 6 – Instinct

Louise couldn't believe her ears. Her familiar had blatantly insulted a noble and accepted a duel against said noble! Why would she do something like that? Hadn't she been assuring Louise that she knew of the difference in status between a noble and a mere familiar? That one should act according to their station?

After the initial bouts of confusion, Louise's mood turned to anger and frustration. Nothing ever seem to go right in her life, not even after her success in summoning a familiar. Just when she thought she could finally cast magic properly, she was promptly proven wrong. That demonstration during the Earth lecture this morning had ended up in another one of her classic explosions that even knocked the teacher out. And now, her familiar had acted out against her yet again, and she did promise consequences for times like this.

It seemed that her familiar's personality had morphed as much as the physical metamorphosis, and Louise still had yet to get answers as to why Rek'Sai had changed and what that means.

Louise hadn't been able to get close to see the whole episode between her familiar and a fellow student go down. Being small and lacking any imposing qualities she was stuck at the outer ring of the crowd that formed around the drama. However she was able to hear everything as the crowd was thankfully quite content to just observe quietly.

She couldn't quite recognise her familiar's voice at first, being still unacquainted with her voice, but a quick question and a quick description from the taller students in front confirmed Louise's fears. The other voice sounded familiar, but it was the content of his sentences that gave Guiche's identity away. Louise would recognise that dramatic speech and his skirt-chasing tendencies anywhere.

While listening to the back and forth between Guiche and Rek'Sai, Louise had a hard time trying to decide who was right. On one hand, Guiche had been a despicable jerk who toyed with the hearts of two girls. Even if you are a noble, there are just some things that you can never do. In fact, it is precisely because you are a noble that you will be expected to lead by setting a good example. Rek'Sai was right to question the example set by Guiche, and Louise felt embarrassed to have a fellow noble like him. On the other hand, however, Guiche is still a noble. This means that even if Guiche had done something wrong, it is never anyone of lower status' prerogative to question, let alone lecture, the noble's actions. Doing so is a huge offence, and duelling to settle the issue will always end in the noble's win. To Louise, those without magic can never beat those with magic, synonymously commoners will never beating nobles.

It is a rash and thoughtless decision to accept the challenge so readily. It might as well be the same as writing your own death sentence. As stupidly deserving as that is in the eyes of most nobles, Louise had been taught to always care for those beneath her station, or at least lead them from the bad and teach them the good. It had always been the case in her family's lands and she will not change her ways here simply because no other nobles acknowledge her ways.

Besides, this is her familiar who is about to be killed. She is bound to her familiar as Rek'Sai is bound to her. It's her duty to help her familiar. Oh how Louise wishes that her familiar would at least behave herself, now this situation's implications will be reflected on her. And how is she going to explain that the Rek'Sai now is her familiar? How troublesome.

Louise waited for the crowd to clear so she can go have a stern word with Rek'Sai.

/* - */

Now that I've had a healthy amount of time to myself to cool down a little and contemplate what I've done, I realise the gravity of the situation. In the heat of the moment, I've accepted a duel against some kid with **magic**. What's worse is that I've done it myself, not under the control of my 'brain fragment'. Sure it was my 'brain fragment' who setted the whole situation up, but ultimately it was me who sealed the deal by my own hands.

However, even as I stand now at the Vestri Court, I felt no regret for my actions. This whole nobility thing rubs me the wrong way and I will stand up for my own beliefs if nothing else. I came from a world that lived in an age where equality mattered. We are all human beings after all, not one life is superior to the other regardless of ability.

Before me, the night separated my destination and I. Only the walls at the edges of the court were illuminated. Fire flickered on each of the evenly spaced torches that lined the walls. The crowd had gathered in the court near one of the better lit corners, eager for the expected beating to be under way.

Unless this Monster Girl body has the expected science-defying super strength like in many fantasies, then the odds are very much against my favour. As far as I can tell, doing menial tasks and serving food, my strength was what's expected of a person with my physical build, no more. So I need to work out a strategy instead of hoping for miracles and magic. I've taken self-defence classes for years, but I've never fought against someone with a ranged weapon, much less someone with magic. Still, it's more important to know yourself first, before getting to know the enemy.

I looked down at my glove covered claws. I guess the Rek'Sai exoskeleton isn't all for show, so I can probably take a few hits with them. If the magic here have anything like Dungeons and Dragons' 'Magic Missiles', then that will probably kill the gloves though, but keeping my Monster Girl status hidden isn't really top priority. For all I know, there are magical creatures here like me, what with all the abundance of magic in this world. Drawing attention to myself isn't ideal though, not that this duel is doing me any favours.

"Rek'Sai!"

A call from behind me caught my attention and I turned around to find Louise marching swiftly to me. Her expression is one of determination and annoyance.

Ah great, I forgot that there is Louise to deal with. Of course, she's not going to be happy. I probably ruined her reputation or something. Thanks 'brain'.

 _You're welcome._

Fuck you.

 _And I love you too._

"What in Brimir's name do you think you're doing!?" Louise yelled, hands on her hips.

Well, my grave had already been dug for me, and I was thrown into it. Heck I helped pile the dirt around so I might as well get comfortable.

"I'm fighting for what's right, Master." I said curtly.

"Fighting!? You will be doing no such thing!" For such a little girl, she has quite voluminous lungs. "You will come with me and apologise to Guiche."

"If I did that, I will need to work for Guiche for a month." I reasoned.

"And if you don't, you will die!" Louise shouted as her hands clenched and her eyebrows knitted closer together.

"Master, I get that you are worried-" I started.

"Wh-Who's worried!?" Louise stuttered suddenly. "It's my duty to see that my familiar doesn't make a fool of herself. All the acts of the familiar is reflected on the Master!"

I listened to her, but decided to continue from my previous sentence regardless, "-but if I worked for Guiche, do you know what will happen to me?"

"What do you mean? You'll work for Guiche and do your duties. That's all!" Louise said.

"Really? You mean to tell me that a person like Guiche doesn't have a reputation for being the biggest pig around here? He's cheated on his girlfriend, went after a vulnerable girl who, I take it, is of a younger year, and then he asked me, a…" I hesitated with the term. "…woman, to 'work' _for_ him. Isn't there enough context to see what he's trying to accomplish?"

The more unsavoury points I bring up about the ass-piercing, the more disgusted Louise looked. I can tell she understood my points, so what's stopping her now from letting things run it's course? Surely she can set aside social station for ethical reasons?

"I will apologise to Guiche, personally, and you will be there to apologise with me." Louise declared. "Guiche should be pleased enough to forget your slight against him."

Louise nodded as if she had solved the problem and crossed her arms. I guess she's trying her best to create a compromise, but this is one thing I will not back off from. I may not be a violent person, I may not be much of an extrovert, I may not even be able to say 'no' in the worst of cases, but I am one who will never part from what I believe in. And I believe the only one apologising should be Guiche, and not to me, but to the two girls he had wronged.

"No." I stated flatly. I turned around to walk to where the crowd had gathered, leaving behind a spluttering Louise.

"Wh-What? 'No'? I am y-your m-master!" She must have been rooted to the spot from shock, because her loud voice got softer as I walked.

I'm close to the showdown now, this place is huge, so even just getting across the court took nearly 10 minutes.

"Rek'Sai!" A voice called.

Not again, now what?

I turned around to see a wide-eyed Siesta running to me, no doubt worried about the whole commotion. It must be quite difficult to run seeing how she needed to lift her dress up to avoid tripping over herself. That reminds me, I'm wearing exactly what she is too. This dress is going to be my bane in the upcoming duel. Maybe I can bother Siesta one more time and borrow some more practical clothes.

"Siesta." I greeted.

She reached me, but doubled over to catch her breath. It must have been quite the sprint for her so I waited patiently for her to recover.

"Rek'Sai! I've heard everything! You have to apologise to Sir Gramont!" She pleaded.

Oh not this again.

"Siesta, does the school happen to provide clothes for more physical tasks?" I asked, completely ignoring her plead.

"H-Huh? Um, yes we do, but why?" She asked, confused by the sudden question.

"I'd like to borrow them, it would be impractical of me to go fighting in these." I gestured at my maid dress. Uhg, I still am not used to looking at this body and with these sorts of clothes on.

"What? But you can't go fighting a noble! You'll lose! You'll…die…" Her face fell as she no doubt imagined exactly how the situation would be like when I lay dead on the floor.

Now that's just not fair. Please don't cry. You can't show me that kind of face! My conscience can't bear that heart broken expression. Why do you have to be such a sweet and caring person?

"Hey," I placed a hand gently on her shoulder and consoled her softly. "Hey, don't worry Siesta. It's okay, I'm still here."

She wiped her tears that threatened to spill from her eyes and nodded.

"And I won't lose. I'm not about to lose to some kid who's barely out of his puberty." I stated.

She still looked unwilling to let me go, not that she can stop me, but I don't want to cause her worry. Plus I need to get a change of clothes, so that leaves me no choice.

I'm sorry Siesta, you've been a great friend to me and helped me out a lot since I got to this world, but I'm going to have to lie to you.

"Look, I promise to surrender the moment I think I'll lose. Okay?" I smiled with my eyebrows raised, hoping for her to accept the compromise.

"But why do you have to fight in the first place?" She asked.

"Because, I always stand for what's right." I said simply. "I will apologise when I'm wrong, never because I was just asked to."

That was all I had. I have no fancy words, or other elaborate reasons why I'm accepting the duel. I just hope my determination can persuade Siesta.

She looked into my eyes searchingly for a few moments, for what I don't know. Then, she bowed her head in what I hope was acceptance.

"You promised to surrender when you think you'll lose." She wasn't asking a question, it was a statement. I nodded my head regardless. "Come with me then, we'll get you some gardening clothes."

/* - */

"Finally mustered enough courage to come face me? I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up!" Guiche's voice silenced the crowd that is currently making way for my entry. The idiot's in his element, being in the centre of attention and leading the act. Except what happens next will not be an act. There will be a fight.

Instead of responding, I opt to silently observe my opponent and the environment around me. We're spaced about six meters apart with a rough ten meter radius of free space around us, bordered by the crowd.

Mentally checking myself, I made note of my cards that I can play: armoured forearms and hands, clawed fingers, armoured lower legs and feet ending in talons, armoured head piece from my forehead reaching back to cover the top of my head, light and sturdy gardening clothes that give me great freedom of movement. As a side note, I couldn't believe the quality of the fabric can be this good given their apparent era that they live in; no modern technology nor knowledge and all. My pants also had a whole cut into it to fit my two meter long mini Rek'Sai tail, which I think I'm only going to use to curl around my body in defence; I'm not confident in attacking with it. All in all, I'm _quite_ lightly armed and armoured.

I'll have to rely on mobility and keep my hands around my torso to cover most of my vital parts. If mages here are anything like the stereotypical ones portray, then being close to them is their weakness. All I have to do is keep his wand from pointing towards me, or at least have my arm in between it and me. Speaking of which, where is his wand?

"Are you too frightened to speak? Well in that case, maybe we should get this over with." Guiche sucked in a large breath of air and was about to make what I assume was another grandiose speech, but paused and looked harder at me. "What in the world are you wearing? Is that armour? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk."

He made a show of shrugging dramatically and shaking his head. "Well I guess you'll need all the help you can get, but couldn't you at least afford some more tactful looking pieces?"

Then raising his voice, it seemed more like he was addressing the audience than me. "But if you _had_ any tact at all, we wouldn't be here! As expected of a commoner such as yourself."

The crowd laughed. At what I wasn't sure, nothing he said was even remotely funny in any context. I guess they were just engrossed in the atmosphere and loved the feeling of being superior and above someone.

Absolutely sickening.

Still I didn't speak, I had nothing to say to him.

Shaking his head one last time with his arms up in a mocking shrug, he finally got around to his big speech before the duel begins. "I will at least give you the courtesy of telling you my name. I am Guiche the Bronze. An Earth mage of the Gramont linage."

After a whole load of waving his rose around, he looked pointedly at me.

Uhg, fine, I have manners too, even for a person like Guiche. "I am Rek'Sai. Queen of the Xer'Sai and familiar of Louise."

The crowd began murmuring amongst themselves. I caught snippets of disbelief, about the claim of being a queen and of being Louise's familiar.

Laughter broke out from the opposite side of the ring. Guiche was leaning back laughing with a hand on his stomach and another on his forehead. I really don't get how that is a normal, if not, tolerable behaviour around here.

"Is this some kind of joke? Hahahahaha! Well, seeing how this is the 'Zero' we're talking about, I guess this makes sense!" Guiche got out in between his laughter. After calming down a little and wiping a tear from his eye, he addressed the crowd. "It all makes sense now! Even the Zero's familiar is ashamed of her failures and decided to leave! And she's desperate enough to hire a commoner actor as a stand in familiar! She even dressed her with a tail!"

"Shut up Guiche! That isn't true!" A voice I now recognise quite accurately as Louise's yelled from the crowd. "Get out of my way! Let me through!"

Alright, it's not like I really want to fight and get violent or anything, but doesn't it seem like the theatrics and banter will never end? These… _nobles_ , even if they don't live up to the title, seem to just **love** the drama. And quite frankly, I'm getting really sick of it. I've accepted a duel, and so far, for the last ten minutes or so, I've been standing here while Guiche talked the frills off his shirt.

Oh yeah, now that I look properly, his shirt under his cloak doesn't seem like it is in line with standard uniform code. His collar and the middle of his button up shirt is lined with frills, making it seem like the olden day dress clothes for dancing at parties. He wore it with the top two to three buttons undone, showing off his…well I'm not sure what he's trying to show off. Maybe his chest? But then he'll actually have to have muscles there in the first place to show it off. He's not exactly bulking with any muscles anywhere. I'm sure even I have more chest muscles than him, under my breasts that is. Anyway; minor details. I must be getting pretty bored to be spacing out and not concentrating at the situation around me.

"…rude not to speak up when spoken to." Guiche's annoying voice floated to my ears. He was looking at me so I guessed he was talking to me. Well crap, I got so distracted I don't know what he had been saying.

"She was not paid in any way! She is my familiar!" Louise shouted, her voice a lot closer now that she's gotten into the inner edges of the crowd.

"Oh yes, and I'm sure that the large monstrosity you summoned somehow shape shifted into a commoner! Who now claims to be a Queen!" Guiche mocked, not knowing how close to the truth he actually is. "What next Zero? Would your 'familiar' then turn into a sword wielding rabbit, who will claim to be a warrior princess in exile!?"

The audience laughed at the mockery, and Louise's face glowed red from equal parts embarrassment and anger.

Pointing at me, though still glaring daggers at Mister Ass-piercing over here, she declared, "That is Rek'Sai, my familiar! Her familiar runes are proof of that! Take a look for yourself!"

With yet another nonchalant shrug, Guiche strode over to me. Reluctantly I held up my claw for him to see the branded runes on the back of my left hand. Only that wasn't enough, he clasped his hands around mine trying to rub the runes off with his thumbs, though it felt more like he was trying to inappropriately touch me given my impression of him.

Finally letting go of my hand, he turned to Louise who had left the edge of the ring and stood beside me. "I have to give you some credit Zero, your attention to detail certainly shows in these gauntlets."

Before Louise could respond, I interjected, "They are not gauntlets, they are part of me."

I thrust my arm out and rolled back the sleeves, revealing the seams where the exoskeleton merges with my smooth skin. Thinking that that wasn't enough, I snaked my tail forward to whip the air in front of me, which wasn't too difficult at all. Hm, I may be able to use this in the fight after all, though I have no idea how to fit that into my normal moves. I've learnt how to fight with my hands and legs, not with a tail. Better to just keep its use as a shield from projectiles.

Guiche's eyes widened the moment he comprehended what he was seeing and he took a few steps back in shock.

"What manner of demonic creature are you consorting with!?" Guiche gasped, dramatic as ever. "I can't believe you would go so far as to make a pact with demons! And with a Succubus no less! How far you have fallen, Zero. You heret-!"

A resounding slap rang out as my palm swiped Ass-piercing's face. I noticed that my hand tilted in an odd angle during the slap so that my claws don't rake Guiche's face into ribbons. All this happened without my intention, so I guess my 'brain fragment' has had enough of Guiche's shit.

 _Damn right. All of this wasn't supposed to go down like this way._

Then how was it?

 _Like in the story!_

Story? What story? What do you know? You seem to know a lot more about this whole situation than anyone is supposed to. You're no fragmented part of my brain, who are you?

…

Hello?

"Stop your exaggeration. _You're_ the only demon here, two timer." My mouth moved. "Now are we going to fight or what? Or are you just stalling for time because you're afraid of a 'commoner-actor' like me?"

I can feel the edges of my mouth curl into a smirk to go along with the taunt.

"Very well! I shall rid this land of you, demon!" Guiche quickly walked back to his starting position and turned to me with a flap of his cloak. "I, Guiche de Gramont the Bronze, will face you! You will face my might as an Earth mage!"

With his unnecessarily long announcement, he swished his rose with a flick at the end and a single petal fell from it. With the amount of time it had to reach the ground, I could have covered at least half of the distance between Guiche and I, but I decided to wait. If Guiche was crafty, he would have set magical traps, if they exist in this world, so getting close wouldn't be that easy.

When it reached the ground, the area it touched glowed briefly in the same colour as the rose, then a whole suite of armour sprang up from the rose. The moment it materialised, Louise had backed off into the crowd to get away from the crossfire, leaving me to the inevitable battle.

Studying the suite of armour, I realised that it wasn't just a shell for Guiche to wear and fight in. It was a whole statue, though I suppose he can make it move and attack for him. Looking closer at it, it appears to be of female form, so it would have been weird for him to be wearing it. And _of course_ it had to look female, I bet all of this guy's creations would have some sort of connection to the female form if it was possible.

So Guiche is one of those types, the ones where in RPGs we would call the 'summoner' type. They can summon other things to fight for them, and that's all their power relies on. That is if this is anything like RPGs at all, but as this is real life, I'll have to keep an eye on Guiche in case he fires off any spells. So far, it's just this conjuration.

The statue has no weapon, just fists and legs to attack with, and judging by it's colour and Guiche's title, the entire thing is made of bronze. I don't know how thick the statue is, but it should be hollow and not pure bronze all the way through, otherwise it would be extremely hard to move. But then again…magic. Still, last I heard bronze is a pretty soft metal, and I think these claws and talons of mine can rip it apart if the statue isn't thick enough. It's a bonus for me to also be so athletically built, not far from my original body and maybe even better. I can be light on my feet and deliver powerful strikes, though I won't have too much strength so I should avoid getting locked down.

"My bronze golem should be more then enough for you, demon spawn!" Guiche declared in a mock heroic voice. I say 'mock' because all he's doing is making a mockery of it.

Without any further announcement, thankfully, the golem moved. It came at me in, what looked in my eyes, slow lumbering steps. All that metal must be weighing it down quite a bit, and Guiche's magic is evidently not strong enough to dish out any kind of speed from it.

Easy.

I can easily dodge any punch or kick it can throw my way, and instead of retaliating, I can run past it and go straight for Guiche. I stepped my right foot back, bent my legs a little, held my left fist in front at chest level and my dominant fist a little beside my jaw; my fighting stance. I was ready for anything.

The golem got closer and closer to my planned distance before I side-stepped to run full tilt at the ass-piercing. The golem was about to punch. Its obviously telegraphed, drawn-back arm told me of that, and that when it punches, it intends to put all of it's body's weight behind the punch. The force will completely put it off balance if it misses.

…Aaand, punch. Time to move.

…

Um…body, I said move. Dodge that shit, it's coming in faster and faster now. Dodge! Dooo-

I took the full force of the golem's punch. Luckily, I was able to turn my head to the side and dip my head a little to make use of my Xer'Sai exoskeleton atop my head. However, the force still rattled me and it did hurt a little.

That wasn't supposed to happen, I saw the attack coming since yesterday, how couldn't I have dodged it? I…wait…'brain', or whoever you are, it was _you_ wasn't it?

…

Don't play the silent game, I know it was you! Why did you do that? This is a duel where people can get hurt. Why would you force me to get hit!? I don't understand, we're in this together whether we like it or not.

…

Fine, don't tell me anything. Just please, don't sabotage me any more, this is no longer a game. If I die, you die.

The animated bronze statue cocked it's other fist back for another swing at me. Having already recovered, I steadied myself back into my stance, waiting for the opportune moment to dodge and head straight for Guiche.

The golem swung its punch, a clumsy haymaker aiming at my head again, but this time, I was able to duck under it and run past with a burst of speed. I had all but made it past it's back before my legs seized up and refused to move. Momentum and friction played their roles and I fell forward into the ground.

Seriously 'brain'! What the hell is your problem?

 _You need to be beaten to win._

I need to be bea- What!? Have you really gone insane!? I- You- Just, get out of my head!

I quickly rolled to the side to avoid any follow up attacks from the golem, but Guiche seemed content to let me get up first before ordering his magical construct to fight again. He probably thinks that kicking when the opponent is down is a cowardly and 'unnoble' thing to do. That kind of thinking is admirable for someone of his moral standards.

"It's useless trying to fight, demon! You face Guiche the Bronze! Son of General Gramont! There's no way you will win!" Guiche delivered in an all-important tone while I got to my feet. Even in a fight, he spews so much shit.

Once I was up, the attack came swiftly, or as swift as the clunky hunk of bronze can be. Its right hand pulled back to roughly around its waist, ready to spring forward in, mostly likely, a straight punch or an gut hook. Either way, in martial arts terms, it will be an attack down the middle line. I can dodge to the left, its right, so that its left hand can't attempt to grab me.

As the punch launched, I prayed to whatever God there is in this land that my 'brain fragment' will not sabotage me again. The punch turned out to be a straight forward strike to my head. Getting a sudden inspiration, I ducked under it to let its fist fly over my right shoulder. At the same time I stepped forward, positioning my right leg behind its own. I jutted my right elbow out and twisted my waist to roll my elbow forward, catching the golem where the shoulder meets the arm, the shoulder joint on a normal human body.

The Xer'Sai exoskeleton around my arm didn't fail to impress as my elbow took the blow to the bronze statue pretty well. I certainly felt the impact, but no pain. My attack even left a good sized dent in the golem, rendering that arm unusable, or at least stunted it's mobility. The blow's momentum carried the statue backwards, stumbling and catching on my out stretched leg that I had positioned behind it earlier.

It crashed into the floor, though the impact was, fortunately for the golem, softened somewhat by the dirt and grass. I wasn't sure what actually stops the golem, if they even feel pain or not, or does the pain transfer magically back to Guiche, but now wasn't the time to be contemplating that. I had the perfect chance to go straight for Guiche!

I sprinted. Or at least, I intended to. The first few steps built up my speed, but the next few slowed me down immensely, as if I'm exaggerating my steps, so much so that I'm certain I looked ridiculous. It felt like one of those dreams where no matter how much effort I put into forcing my legs to move, they seem to be moving through mud. And not only does it slow my movement down, the frustrating part is that even after taking a step I seem to be still in the same place, as if I was running on the spot. I **hate** those dreams. Only this isn't a dream, this is real and happening to me in real life. The only difference is that each step I took actually counts, and wasn't like running on ice.

I only have one person to thank and curse for my current state.

 **Brain**! Fuck off! Get out of my body!

 _This will all go so much smoother and more like how it was supposed to happen if you would just stop resisting. Like, this fight wasn't even suppose to happen this late._

Get out of my head, or I swear I'll-

My inner cursing was cut off as I felt pain blossoming from my back and I fell forward from the blow, receiving more pain from being unable to bring my arms up in time to brace myself. The damned golem must have recovered and took the opportunity to retaliate from behind me.

This is frustrating. Infuriating even. It's the second time Guiche's golem had been able to hit me when I could have easily dodge the blow. And it's the third time of which my 'brain fragment', if she even _is_ that, hindered me which led me into harm.

I've had enough. Get the fuck out of my head.

…

I got up with my ever slow pace, which must have made me look as if I'm in ample amounts of pain because Shit-face-ass-piercing chose that moment to taunt. "You should give up while you still can, demon. Even if I am merciful enough to spare even you, it will only end badly for you, should you choose to continue."

I turned my back on him and faced his golem. I needed to deal with this first before getting to Guiche. Except that I can't, because I can't even move faster than my 70 year old grandmother who needs a cane to walk! And not just any cane, it's one of those four legged ones where you can put both your hands on it's two sides to support yourself ones!

All because of you, ' ** _brain_** '! What is your problem? Do you think this is all one big joke? Saying shit like 'You need to be beaten in order to win'. This isn't a movie! There is no reverse-zen-mind-fuck-plot-armour-logic that is going to help me win! This is real fucking life!

I was so pissed I didn't even notice the golem's attack until it was too late. Not that I could react to it in time given my new found snail powers. This time, pain found my stomach as the moving statue's fist drove into my guts. I stumbled back, feeling angry more than anything else.

The golem continued its assault and I can do absolutely nothing to stop it. The more injuries I received, the more I was enraged, until my thoughts only followed the pattern of 'fuck this', 'fuck that', and 'fuck everything'.

Intelligent thought resurfaced again only after I've hit the cold grass and have dirt smeared over my face from wiping the ground so much. I realised then that I was no longer slowed by 'brain' any more, I was just in so much pain from the thrashing that I can't move. But even when my body felt so weak, my mind couldn't be more awake and active.

All of my consciousness screamed for me to move, to not give up, be aggressive and go on the offensive, or at least get up and try something. I guess this is just pure stubbornness on my part, normally I wouldn't go so far and put so much effort into doing anything, but I'm committed here, and I'll see it through until the end.

 _Just lie still._

And it would all go _so much easier_ if you could just fucking-

"- **Get out of my head**!" I had vocalised my thoughts in frustration, letting every fibre of my being resonate with my anger.

Then, something clicked. Or more like, detached itself. A sensation of something that was always there being pulled or pushed away, yet I didn't realise that something existed until a moment ago. I felt an adrenaline rush throughout my entire body and I let out a roar.

My shout embodied all of my emotion. The frustration of not being able to do anything, of not being able to control my body, the anger at the entity that seek enslavement of my being, the resentment at these so called nobles that only know of their own pleasures and entertainment, and the confusion and fear of being in a unknown world in an unknown body. Everything rolled into one big nameless emotion that eradicated all other thoughts in my mind, leaving only raw instinct.

/* - */

Guiche's victory is at hand, that much he was sure. He'd never been in a real fight before but this was just like he had expected. It was quite like the stories he had been told, even if it was much smaller in scale. The lone hero who discovers an evil plot of the villain, a demon no less. Now he stands in that role of the hero and faced down evil. His splendid Valkyrie proved too much of a match against the Succubus.

To be honest, he was quite confident to begin with, but that confidence wavered somewhat at the discovery that Louise had contracted a demon of the Utangard _**(1)**_. As it turns out, that didn't matter. Light will always triumph over dark in the end, so he guessed he shouldn't have worried. It did seem a little too easy though…Bah, it doesn't matter, he had won. Maybe his dear Montmorency would forget about his slight blunder and that his heroics will win her heart again.

Guiche smiled at the prospect, his life is coming together again so perfectly. He wondered if he'll have a title added to his name for his deed? Something like, Demon Slayer, or Evil's Bane. Indeed those would be grand and fitting titles. All he has to do to attain those titles is to finish his opponent.

Speaking of, his opponent, this 'Rexai', is currently laying face down on the floor. She had putted up a pitiful fight. That one time she actually scored a hit was nothing but pure luck. But flukes won't win against the might of the fourth son of General de Gramont!

Nodding to himself, Guiche decided it was time to land the finishing blow. If his opponent was anyone else, he would have given them one last chance to honourably surrender themselves, but he was facing a vile spawn from the Utangard. He will show her no mercy, even if she looked beautiful in, what Guiche would describe as, a spicy sort of way. She was enticing in her looks and her obvious good health enhances her beauty in a different way compared to the soft looking girls of Tristain. Obviously, she is a demon of Utangard whose aim is to bewitch men here in Midgard and tempt them into committing adultery. He himself must have been a victim of her demonic magic, enticed away from his Montmorency. The gall!

There must be justice! Thinking that, he waved his rose again while channelling his will through the foci. There was no need for a chant, his bloodline gave him the gift of being able to quickly focus his Earth magic, specifically anything to do with bronze, into constructs with just his will and intent alone.

A bronze sword appeared near his Valkyrie golem, embedded on the ground. He commanded his golem to take it with its still functional left hand and had it raise the sword high above its head. Looking at his golem now, it looked like an executioner who is about to behead someone, which brought him to the realisation that…he was about to kill someone.

Never in his life had he taken another's, and he isn't sure he can do it now, even if it is to slay a demon. That Succubus looked human enough for him to have second thoughts and doubt himself.

The golem was left standing with its sword raised while Guiche internally debated his next course of action.

He was deep in thought when the Succubus suddenly yelled. " **Get out of my head**!"

Following that was an intense struggle to get up on her feet before letting out a wordless scream. It sounded rather like the dreadful screech that came before Louise's familiar was summoned. _**(2)**_ Goosebumps crawled to the surface of his skin from the mere reminder of the primal scream.

From where Guiche stood, he could only stare as the Succubus exploded into a puff of black feathers at the end of her scream.

Was that it…?

Was that how Succubus die?

Had he already won without needing to deliver a fatal blow?

Maybe the Succubus really was that weak, or he was just that stro-

A sudden ear piercing and chilling scream ripped through the Vestri Court and echoed beyond. This time, it was _exactly_ like the one he had heard before. _**(2)**_ Guiche felt the exact same sensation as before, of being small, of being _prey_.

Like a frightened mouse, he searched franticly for the large monstrosity that is the Zero's familiar, but the only odd thing he can immediately notice are the black feathers that are still slowly drifting to the ground.

As he gazed, mesmerised by the dance of the feathers, a sudden purple glow radiated from inside the slow vortex. From the glow, a menacing growl with alien clicks and reverberations rumbled. _**(3)**_

This shook Guiche back to his senses, but before he could do anything, he felt the ground tremble a little and heard the sound of earth being churned rapidly. Had he not been an Earth mage, he would have had a hard time guessing what that sound was. The purple glow disappeared as the monster that is no doubt Rek'Sai dug underground.

So the Succubus really was just the Zero's familiar, but in humanoid form! Or maybe the Zero's familiar _is_ a Succubus. But where did it go? Did it run away? Things just kept getting weirder and more outlandish with Louise and her familiar.

Guiche mentally willed his golem to retreat back to him, deciding to play on the safe side. But apart from that, he really didn't know what to do. He had no grasp on the situation, if the monster will attack or not, if it is really as strong as fierce as it's appearance suggests. Or if Guiche's life is in any kind of real danger, judging by how much he felt like a rabbit being hunted by a dragon at the moment. Should he run? Should he also tell everyone to get out? Should he call for a teacher?

His golem had taken only a few steps in the time his mind had asked those questions. A slight tremor in the ground could be felt, then exploded into a large rumble before something burst up from the ground where his Valkyrie is.

Dust and dirt obscured his vision and he threw up his arms to shield his eyes. Even so, he was certain he saw that purple glow from within the pillar of dirt and dust.

The sound of frenzied movement can be heard from the heart of the dust cloud followed by the high pitched screeches of metal being torn apart. Grunts from the creature accompanied the destruction. _**(4)**_

An indiscernible part of Guiche's golem flew at high speeds past his head, missing his ear only by hair's breadth and embedded itself into the ground near the feet of one of his fellow schoolmate. It happened so fast that he didn't even have time to flinch.

Some one in the crowd must have casted a quick Wind spell because the dust was quickly blown away. At the same time, the sound of churning earth can be heard again, and by the time Guiche had clear vision from the dust, he caught only a glimpse of the blue monster's tail. It's glowing purple underside illuminating the rim of the hole it dug for a moment before disappearing down into the ground again.

Surveying what's left of his Valkyrie, he found that every piece were no larger than his hand. This 'Rexai' had left none of the pieces distinguishable in mere seconds and had time enough to crawl back into the earth.

Well, that certainly answers all of his questions. But it still left him at a lost as to what he should actually do. How does one protect themselves from _**that**_!? All of a sudden, Guiche felt weak. Not just mentally weak, given his apparent position now in the food-chain, his legs felt like they are actually struggling to support him. Fear had overtaken him.

The horror is not knowing when the monster will resurface again, and where it will resurface. It felt like no place is safe, just like…being in the sea with sharks circling below. He is vulnerable from every direction.

In a surge of panic, he rapidly swished his rose, creating six new golems. Each were armed differently, ranging from shields and swords, to spears and maces, even one with a morning-star. Creating this many golems was his limit and the visual aesthetics of his golems suffered in his haste. All effort was devoted to creating his last line of defence and making sure he armed them with weapons with the best sharpness he can provide. Once he was done, he ordered his Valkyries to fan out in front of him in a horseshoe shape.

Guiche's golems had taken but a few steps before the monster ruptured out from the ground again, this time with no vibrations from below to warn of its approach. Like last time, dust and dirt flew in all directions, obscuring the beast from view. The same sounds of Guiche's golems being torn asunder can be heard, but without vision, Guiche couldn't order the Valkyries to do anything useful. They were basically sitting ducks.

From the magical link he had with his creations, he felt two of the golems split into useless pieces in seconds. Then a third, and once it was done with it, it rushed out from the dust cloud, tearing a fourth golem into ribbons before Guiche can react.

Throwing caution and his reasoning to the wind, he ordered the remaining two golems to attack. The golems responded but only succeeded in thrusting out their weapons aimlessly before the beast tore into one of them and simultaneously flicked the other away by pivoting it's body and swiping with it's thickly armoured tail.

However, Guiche couldn't have saw that as he was busy running the moment he ordered his creations to throw themselves at the creature that was most definitely summoned from the vilest reaches of Utangard.

Some of the crowd's eyes were on him as he ran, but he didn't care, he just wanted to be away from the monster. Hope tugged at this heart as he neared the inner rim of the crowd, but something had crashed almost directly in front of him and crushed his hope.

The metallic clanging noise told Guiche all he needed to know that the mess of bronze in front of him was once his golem. It looked so flimsy now that it is a wonder how it didn't just tear itself in two from the impact.

Guiche's legs can no longer hold his body up. From the shock of it all, he fell on his backside and sat there, despite the situation. He slowly shuffled his now sweat covered body around, only to see the eye catching purple glow slide around on the ground. Upon closer inspection it was the ominous and cruel looking fin of the beast sticking out from the ground. It cut through the dirt like it was butter as the beast no doubt swam through the land beneath. It circled a few times and a muffled, but still somehow audible noise consisting of clicks and alien vocals came from the creature. _**(5)**_

Obviously, Guiche had no idea what the creature had said, but the message was clear: he can run, but he can't hide.

With it's message delivered clearly, the fin dove into the ground, and all was quiet once more.

Guiche's face had turned deathly pale at this point, and he dared not move. That thing seem to always attack the moment something moved. Judging from the immobile crowd, they probably thought the same.

They held their collective breath, and waited.

…

And waited…

…

…And waited some more…

…

The oppressing silence became so tense it was palpable in the air. What felt like hours were actually just seconds, every tick of time drawn out infinitely longer than usual.

At this moment, Guiche had a sudden urge to piss. He wasn't sure why something as inappropriate as this is a concern he is having while his very life is threatened, but he really needed to go. But he can't, one move, just one step, even if he were to simply just stand up, he was sure he'll be raked into strands from below and be eaten alive.

This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to be winning against a weak demon and win back his love's heart! He was supposed to be the hero of the tale, not some piece of fresh meat that was tossed into a sea of sharks!

The tension had worn off a little from the long wait, and Guiche began to ever so slowly inch his way into a crouch. Just getting to the position alone took him almost a minute. Then finally, he slowly stood up, straightening up and breathing a sigh of relief. It seems doing things slowly will not attract the beast.

Emboldened by his success, he tentatively turned to the crowd and stopped, waiting to see if there was any reaction from below. After a few thumps of his heart to comfort him and to tell him that he was still alive, he slowly, and softly stepped on foot out towards the crowd.

Nothing happened.

Good.

With enough slow and soft steps, Guiche will be able to escape and run to the stone paved towers, where his sanctuary from this nightmare lies. Then he can go tell a teacher, or the headmaster himself about the Utangard monster that Louise had summoned.

His plan renewed his hope and gave him courage. He took another small, cautious step, and suddenly the world flipped upside down before him. In the brief moment that he could see the world around him, he couldn't comprehend it's upside down version. Then he was covered in dust and dirt.

With every lungful of air he tried to breath, he hacked and coughed harder. He became dizzy with the lack of clean air, but it suddenly cleared up and he gulped down the free air greedily.

Once Guiche felt aware enough to observe his surroundings once again, he noticed that everything and everyone were overturned. He frowned as he tried to think why. The blood rushing to his head isn't helping with his cognitive abilities either. After a few heartbeats, he realised: _he's_ the one upside down. But how?

He looked 'down' to his legs. His right one is dangling awkwardly while the left one is being held up by something blue. The more he concentrated on his captive leg, the more he realise that it is actually in pain. Excruciating amounts of pain even. It felt like his bones were crushed and his leg had turned to mush by the gripping force of, what Guiche now recognise, the hand of the monster. Tears flooded his eyes instantly from the pain in his left leg and he pursed his lips to keep from crying out. Even through all the pain, Guiche still had the mental capacity to think that it is a good idea not to making any sudden moves or noises to provoke the monster.

"Familiar! Stop this instant!" A loud voice rang out from the crowd. The first intelligible words to be heard after the nightmare began brought some sense of normalcy to Guiche.

Guardedly, Guiche tried to angle his head to see who it was that shouted, although in hind sight, it was pretty obvious. It was Louise.

As he turned, he immediately regretted it. The beast's head came into view and snarled at him. Interestingly, its breath didn't smell of anything at all. However, the sharp mandibles and teeth were enough to throw Guiche into a panicked state. It slowly opened it jaws and brought him closer in an exaggerated fashion, as if savouring the mental torture it was inflicting on Guiche.

"Guiche!" A familiar, but concern-filled voice cried. Ah, it must be his sweet Montmorency. Guiche was so glad that she still cared for him, because now he was about to die. And he will go knowing that their love had not been abandoned so permanently as Montmorency had made it out to be.

"Familiar!" Louise cried again.

"Please Miss Rek'Sai! Please don't eat him!" A completely different voice cried out.

This one Guiche had not heard before, but whoever it is, he is eternally grateful to her, for the creature had stopped it's plans to eat Guiche alive. At least for now.

Guiche felt himself being lowered a little, but didn't have a good angle to see what's going on, and he was too tired and hurt to try.

"Sie…Siessstaaah…" The creature spoke! Or at least it sounded like it spoke. Guiche couldn't be sure of what it said though as he had never heard of the maid's name before.

"Yes, it's me, your friend, Siesta." The voice is a lot closer now.

Along with his gratitude, this 'Siesta' had Guiche's eternal respect too. To be able to willingly step so close to a monster like this and try to talk to it to calm it down…Guiche had no words to describe his respect and his relief that he currently felt.

"Sssiesta I…What hhhave I done?" The monster asked, it's voice filled with…regret?

Guiche couldn't contemplate more about the strange turn of events even if he wanted to. He felt the pressure around his crushed leg disappear and then the ground rushed up to embrace him.

/* - */

 ** _(1)_** – The Familiar of Zero's world view is inspired by Norse mythology. After some research, I've found out about our pre-Christian world view on the Nine Worlds. Familiar of Zero takes inspiration from the names and their associated meanings, but not completely and entirely. I decided to do the same. In Norse mythology, Innangard and Utangard are important concepts which divided the categories of the worlds, Innangard being 'inside the fence' and Utangard being 'beyond the fence'. Innangard worlds strive to be orderly, law-abiding, and civilised, while Utangard worlds are chaotic, anarchic, and wild. Although there are many worlds with each having their own unique set of conditions, I've decided to just flatten it down to and generalise them to Innangard and Utangard, where most bad creatures come from Utangard, and where people inhabit now is within Innangard.

These sites are pretty good at explaining the worlds. Take a look if you are interested. (Remove the brackets.)

norse-mythology. **(** org **)(** / **)** cosmology **(** / **)** the-nine-worlds

norse-mythology. **(** org **)(** / **)** cosmology **(** / **)** the-nine-worlds **(** / **)** midgard

 ** _(2)_** – vignette2. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/b/b1/RekSai. **(** R1 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20150214025537

(Remove the brackets.)

 _ **(3)**_ – vignette4. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/6/67/RekSai. **(** move02 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20141216180159

(Remove the brackets.)

 _ **(4)**_ – vignette2. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/7/72/RekSai. **(** attack01 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20141216175910

(Remove the brackets.)

 _ **(5)**_ – vignette3. **(** wikia **)**. **(** nocookie **)**. **(** net **)(** / **)(** leagueoflegends **)** /images/b/b0/RekSai. **(** burrow01 **)**. **(** ogg **)** /revision/latest?cb=20141216175956

(Remove the brackets.)

/* - */

 **AN: Phew! That was a monster of a chapter hey? A whopping 8976 word long chapter! Even bigger than the last one! I hope the size is appropriate and not off putting. Or maybe you guys would like more? I know some people love mountains and mountains of text, and some like sweet short chapters. I'm just trying to get the balance right for the topics and events of each chapter.**

 **Since this is a _League of Legends_ and _Zero no Tsukaima_ crossover, I'll be fitting in more League elements into the story too. So far it's been more Zero-centric. The only League element is Alexis' Rek'Sai form, and that isn't enough. But don't worry, I won't be just stuffing in terms and names that people will not know just because they don't play League, I'll make sure to explain all that is necessary.**

 **Anyway, hopefully that was a more exciting chapter and that the action isn't too horrible or hard to follow.**

 **Please leave a review if you can spare the time. I always like to know what you guys think of each chapter. You know, things like pacing, plausibility of character's reactions, if something is an interesting plot twist, grammar and spelling mistakes, or even if you just liked the chapter and wanted to let me know. :)**

 **I read all reviews and always reply if appropriate, and if I can actually pm you, i.e. if you reviewed with an actual account.**

 **Until next time.**


	7. Implications

**24th October 2016**

 **AN: It's been quite some time since my last chapter as I had a lot of assignments to work through for my university course. I hope this, here, double chapter post will make up a bit for the long wait. That's right, I said 'double chapter post'. I'll post one now, and another chapter a little later.**

 **Don't expect to see chapter 9 any time soon as I feel assignments beginning to flood in again.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 7 – Implications

Everything felt so real, so _raw_. As if, for the first time, I'm truly alive and can perceive everything in crystal clear quality, yet it all flashed by my eyes. I saw my claws in front of me, raking through the ground, my vision is tinged with a purple haze that seem to emanate from my body. Even underground, I can still see clearly, or rather I can 'see' through the earth. Snapshots of what's happening above came to me in pulses. Every time I felt something move, the vibrations through the ground fed me more information.

I felt… free.

Free as an eagle can be in the air. I can go anywhere I want from down here, and still see everything above with pinpoint accuracy location. I felt free, the whole world at my fingertips.

Movement.

A small quiver told me all I needed to know and I'm already soaring to the surface. I bursted out of the ground, filled with energy, and greedily tore at the thing that caught my attention.

It's not edible. How disappointing.

I'm back in the ground. Waiting.

More movement from above. Six.

Rush! Excitement! Tear!

Run to the next one! And the next!

Two left. They challenge me? Silly things.

A flick of my tail and maul the other. All gone now.

They're not edible. Disappointed again.

There is a need burning inside of me. An inexplicable and insatiable hunger to hunt those on the surface.

I'm back in the ground. Waiting.

Waiting.

And patiently waiting some more.

If I wait, there will be more to hunt, I'm sure of it.

…

There. A tiny murmur from the earth told me of something treading slowly and softly, trying to escape. Too bad I can sense it all.

Rush! Burst!

I have my prey by the legs. I tightened my grip as I wasn't about to lose the only nourishment that I found so far.

"-iliar!…-is inst-…"

I salivated, and brought the morsel closer to my face. It doesn't seem like there is much meat on it, but it'll have to do.

"-amil-…"

There's some noise, coming from somewhere, but nothing compares to the hunger that calls loudly in my stomach. My maw's parted…

"-ss Rek'Sai! Please don't eat him!"

My jaws froze.

That…That voice…

I know it from somewhere. It means to me…friend. And peace, and care.

It's…It's…Sie…Siesta?

"Yes, it's me, your friend, Siesta."

It's Siesta! I- This-!

I snapped out of my reverie and looked around me in a daze. Everything around me looked as if it had shrunk. No, I had grown bigger. I look down at myself and found that I am back in my monstrous form. Tracing my outstretched arm, I finally realised that I'm holding Guiche's leg and dangling him upside down. My face was inches away from his.

Was…Was I about to… _eat_ him!?

I resisted the urge to hurl any leftovers in my stomach, my mind rejected the very idea of eating another human being.

Feeling Guiche's limbs in my claws, I can tell that it is broken, and very likely into pieces. The bastard deserved an ass-whooping but not like this. This felt more like a savage animal attack. Like a wild hunt with Guiche being the game, whilst I was the lion. It felt primal and uncontrolled. At any point, this kid could have lost his life and I would have been the cause; that weighed heavily on my conscience.

"Sssiesta I…What hhhave I done?" I let out a cry of regret.

I released Guiche's leg, unable to endure the sensation of his crushed limb any longer. Guiche dropped but his descent slowed immediately and stopped altogether just as his face brushed the soft blades of grass.

Two figures emerge from the crowd, one tall, one shorter, both middle aged. One, I recognise, is the teacher from yesterday at the summoning ritual. He is a bespectacled middle aged man carrying a wooden staff.

The woman beside him is the shorter of the two. She wears a purple cloak as well and the same blue coat with white trims, so it's likely that the cloak and the coat are part of the academy's dress code for its faculty members.

The middle aged woman is currently holding out her wand in Guiche's direction, so I figured it was her who halted Guiche's fall. She glanced at the taller man beside him and they nodded slightly to each other, the man saying something softly to her, probably a word of thanks or instructions. The woman moved off with Guiche floating ahead of her while the man cleared his throat, garnering the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"Alright students, everyone back to their business! It's late, and though tomorrow is the Day of Void, I suggest you all not make a habit of sleeping late!" The teacher called.

With the show over and the presence of a teacher, the students began slowly dispersing, though still abuzz with chatter. No doubt the fight between Guiche and I are on everyone's lip.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do next. On one hand I've just finished a fight that could have ended in a murder. That isn't something that can be digested over the course of the five minutes of clear thought that I had after my rampage. On the other hand I have a truckload of questions that I don't even know where and who to begin asking them.

The sudden change into a humanoid form, the change back into my monstrous form, the loss of intelligent control over myself when I nearly killed Guiche, and my current lack of the 'brain fragment''s presence in my mind. Then there's Louise and Siesta to deal with. I'm sure they will be wanting explanations, even if I haven't gotten my own. There is also the most crucial question of all: how I can get back to my old life.

"Miss Vallière, before you go, the headmaster has requested your presence in his office on the morrow. Make sure you and your familiar meet him before noon." The teacher said to Louise once he got within conversing distance.

Great, more attention, exactly what I don't need but I guess I had it coming.

"What am I to meet him for, Professor Colbert?" Louise inquired. I can tell from her voice she's worried, even if she doesn't show it in her expression. A call from the headmaster is never good after an incident like this, but I guess it says something of her maturity in keeping her cool in her situation.

"He didn't say-" The now named Professor Colbert started.

"But I didn't duel with Guiche! He forced a duel with my familiar!" Louise suddenly burst out. Way to keep your cool, Louise.

The professor just held his held his hand up and patiently waited for Louise to calm down before starting over, "The headmaster didn't say what he wanted to see you for. He has not asked for Mr. Gramont so I do not think it will be about this fight between him and your familiar."

"However, I do caution against any more antagonistic behaviour Miss…" Colbert turned to me and left the question hanging.

Just as I was about to reply, Louise cut in. "Her name is Rek'Sai."

"Miss Vallière, I do believe your familiar is quite capable of speaking for herself." Colbert chided. Louise looked as if she was about to protest, but the professor quickly held his hand up again. "Miss Vallière, I think it's very apparent that your familiar is of both sentient and sapient existence, not another common beast. It is not wise to treat her like one."

Today's hectic events and the headache of all my unanswered questions left me fatigued and mentally drained, so finally having someone understanding of me, if even just a little, is a welcome change. Although, all I wanted was to be alone and figure everything out.

I went from humanoid to beast and was nearly consumed by some sort of primal instinct. That can't be good for the health of my mental state. I'm probably still in shock for thinking this but, all I can take from that is that I am somehow able to change forms. I really should, instead, be thinking: "Oh God. I'm a huge friggin' monster. And now magic is a thing. And, _most importantly_ , in case I forgot, _I'm in another universe_!"

However, all I can do for now is work through what I have, a little bit at a time.

So. I can turn into a beast form, and then a humanoid form. Sort of like fantasy RPG. I can deal with that. For now.

And that's the key.

Even if I don't look one hundred percent human, I can disguise myself well enough for people to not take second glance me. Then I can better roam around the school looking for clues as to how to get home. A school like this is bound to have a library.

Good. For the first time since being here in this crazy world, I have a plan of attack. But first, rest. After listening to what the professor has to say, the first thing I'm doing is to go back to that unused classroom. Speaking of which, I should really tune in.

"-dering Miss Rek'Sai to do anything for you is inadvisable Miss Vallière. I suggest you treat her more as a partner, a friend in the best of cases. Take time to learn about each other tomorrow. I don't expect the sudden relocation to be very healthy to a sapient mind." Colbert advised.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this man and he's about the only person here who I'd acknowledge as an actual noble deserving of the title.

"Thank you, Professor Colbert." I said sincerely. "It really hasn't been easy adjusting to this strange new world."

"You're most welco-…" Colbert began but his words died in his mouth as his eyes widened. "A new world you say? Do you mean to say you are from a far away place? Or from another plane of existence completely?"

I can literally see the energy build up in his body in excitement as he reached beneath his cloak for, no doubt, his notebook and quill. He fumbled slightly as he took them out and he leaned forward in anticipation of my answer.

Well, I think I can be more straightforward with this guy since he seems to be the more open minded type. A rarity in this sort of society. Who knows, he might just be my way out. But, I really wanted to rest, collect my bearings and just get away from all this snobby 'noble' business.

"As much as I'd like to share my story, this isn't the best of time or place." I replied.

"A-Ah, yes." Colbert looked a bit disappointed, but nodded in agreement and stowed away his writing equipment. "Perhaps another time. Maybe tomorrow, after your meeting with the headmaster?"

"I believe you have suggested for Master and I to find out more about each other tomorrow so I think that will take up most of the day. How about the day after?" I suggested.

"I'll send someone over to notify you after my teaching periods are over." He agreed. "Right, I think it's time I let you two rest. Good night."

"Good night Professor Colbert." Louise said without her usual tension in her voice that comes with her attitude. I guess she has capacity for respect after all.

"Good night." I said my farewells too and the professor left.

As he departed, I'm left wondering what kind of school policies this academy has. Do duels like this occur regular enough that it's not a huge deal? Shouldn't there be more concerns about the safety of the students if magic can be thrown around like water balloons? Sure Louise and I are going to see the headmaster, but there should be more immediate reactions to incidents like this. Especially since I could very easily have killed someone…

"Rek'Sai." Louise's voice interrupted my thoughts. There's a bit of tension in it, but not the usual edgy one. "Professor Colbert is right, we need to talk. I'll…I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I nodded. I guess the tension sounded more like anxiety? Like some sort of need to talk, but at the same time she doesn't want to speak it out loud. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. I haven't known her for long. Maybe she's just tired and wanted to go sleep today's events off. I know I do, along with some quiet time to wrap my head around the fact that I might never…

"Miss Rek'Sai?" A voice called out from behind me.

Siesta. I forgot, she's been here the whole time too. The poor girl was just standing there waiting.

"Siesta, I'm…sorry that you had to see me that way." I began.

I really don't want her to see me as some loose cannon that might eat her at any moment. She's the only person close enough to me that I might call her friend in this world. I don't want to lose that.

"I'm not usually like this, I…I don't know what happened. There was a lot of things…magic…and I can't expla-" I rambled, but before I could finish, Siesta stepped closer to me.

Her step seemed uncertain, but there was no hesitation when she placed a hand on the side of my head. Despite the hard exoskeleton I had for armour, I can still feel her warmth clearly. I felt the distinct contrast between the hardness of my exoskeleton and the softness of her hand. Maybe the warmth was all placebo and I had imagined it all, but I was truly touched by Siesta's trust and her unspoken acceptance of me, even after what she saw me nearly do. Just thinking back on that moment when I had nearly taken a bite…

"You stopped." Siesta said simply.

Why is she being so kind? So warm? I'm a strange monster that she had just met but a day ago. I tried to say something, anything, but all the blocked off emotions I had from since my summoning rendered me speechless. I can do nothing be bow my head low in shame.

"I'll see you back to the classroom." Siesta smiled. "You don't know your way back, right?"

Honestly I wanted to cry right then and there, but I had no eyes and no tears. I don't know whether I should feel happy or shame; my mind bound in an incoherent mess. Then I just did what I've been doing all this time: do something else and think about things later. I followed Siesta as she led back to my appointed lodging.

I guess this is my mind trying to save itself. I'm no expert in psychology but I know that a mind needs long periods of time to get accustomed to it's new reality. And when it's been thrown into the fray so suddenly like mine was, it will have too many things to process. So a lot of my emotions were shut off.

It's the reason why I feel so out of my element. Everything just happens and it doesn't remotely resemble the usual flow of life I had. It's to the point where I'm mentally numbed by all the unbelievable things that's happening around and to me and I don't even stop and gape at all the magical wonder around me.

My picking a fight was probably me trying to find a distraction for the brain to work in the background. Re-evaluating my actions, I think my brain, meaning _me_ , wanted a fight. Anything to get the shock and stress out of my system.

Is that what my 'brain fragment' was telling me to do? Is it truly a part of my brain? It's actions… _my_ actions, seem to be so out of place, but then again so was my consent to fight Guiche. And now that I've finally fought to my heart's content, the voice stopped speaking.

I managed a soft "Thank you, Siesta" sometime along the way back to the classroom. I'm not even sure she heard it, and I'm even less sure of what specifically I'm thanking her for; taking me back to the classroom, being my only friend here, or not running away screaming in terror from me.

I tried to calm my racing mind, to clear it from all the thoughts, theories and rationalising that it so desperately needed. Fortunately, as we walked, the dull thudding of my 'feet' against the ground lulled me into a state of waking rest. My body moved on its own in autopilot mode and before I know it we are back at the entrance of the unused classroom.

"Thank you." I said again, though I didn't look at her. She left without another word.

It's like I failed her somehow. Like I failed her trust. When we met yesterday she was initially afraid, but she threw all her fears away in favour of trusting that I would never do anything to harm her despite my monstrous form. And going primal and wild like I had felt as if I've lied to her. She shouldn't feel safe around me again and yet she just walked me back to this room.

"Ugh, can you look any more pitiful?"

My head snapped up and scanned the room. There is no one here.

"You're like a lost dog who lost his owner without even getting one last treat."

That voice sounded close, but the echoing around the room and the lack of a body made it hard to pinpoint where it came from. The voice is familiar, a feminine voice, but it's not from within my head so it's not my 'brain fragment' speaking again…

"Up here, little puppy. The window."

The room stretches up unnecessarily high with two rows of windows on either side if the chalkboard indicates the 'front' of the room. Then three larger windows sit even higher than the second row. One on either side of the room and one in the 'front', high above the chalkboard.

If I had eyes, I'm sure they would be squinting, but even if I had eyes, I doubt I would have faired better in finding the origin of the disembodied voice. I've searched all the windows but couldn't find anyone. It's dark, sure, but there's enough ambient light from the moon and the magical torches outside to illuminate the windows. I would be able to see a silhouette at the very least.

"Wait, Rek'Sai doesn't have eyes right? Can you even see?"

"I can s-" I started, but it seems the voice didn't hear me speak.

"Yeah, my bad. I'll come down."

Alert, I observed closely for any movement descending down from the windows, but unexpectedly, I heard fluttering of wings instead. I realise my mistake immediately, I assumed I was talking to a human. What flew down and alighted on top of the back of a chair is a black bird. A raven.

But _of course_ it's a raven. It's not like any other animals in this world likes stalking and talking to me. It's just like that weird, talking one from this morning that I accidentally choked down my throat. I'm going to have to watch out for if this raven's going to try its luck flying at my face.

I don't understand what the ravens of this world has got against me. Maybe it's an instinct thing. Maybe talking ravens just instinctively hate Xer'Sai. Or there could a more logical explanation.

I know animals of this world are summoned and bound to a human master by magic. Then logically the actions of the animals would be the bidding of their human masters. So, who's this raven's master, and what does he/she want with me?

"Hey, I know my feathers are beautiful and I'm the most perfect crow specimen there is, but staring is rude." The raven's voice snapped me out of my train of thought.

"How can I stare if I've got no eyes?" I retorted, though it was without malice.

"Touché. But you _can_ see me can't you?" It asked.

"Your beak doesn't move when you speak. Does that answer your question?" I supplied.

"Yeah...magic is weird." It said.

"Yeah." I agreed.

A spell of silence fell over us and the seconds that ticked by became progressively awkward.

"So who are you?" I broke the silence.

"I am like you." It claimed.

"You're a Xer'Sai the size of a small dragon?" I asked sarcastically.

"Ugh, no, I'm a crow, not-" The annoyed bird started.

"Aren't you a raven?" I've been meaning to ask that since the first time it claimed itself a crow.

"No, I'm a crow. Why would you think I'm a raven?" It asked. "And why is any of this important?"

The bird's right, this isn't a priority.

"You're a raven. You've got a wedged shaped tail and pointed wings. I just found it weird that you don't know what species you are." I said. "Anyway, you still haven't answered my question: who are you?"

"I did answer your question. I'm like you. And no, I'm not a Xer'Sai, or a crow or even a raven." It claimed. "I'm human."

What.

Regardless of if I actually believe that the bird is human or not, what it said would imply that it knows about my origins; of me being human before. But it's impossible for anyone to know this secret, and for the bird to announce it so suddenly is unnerving. I don't know what the consequences will be. I don't know how that will affect my safety in this world. I should play it safe.

I tried to deny the bird's claim. "I'm not human. Look at me. I'm obviously a Xer'S-"

"Oh please. Don't give me that crap." The raven interjected. "I know you. I know this whole story. I know how it begins and how it all ends. Well kinda."

"Who are you!?" I demanded. Just who _is_ this bird? "What do you want? What do you know?"

"I know you. And calm down, don't worry. You won't be in any danger." It said reassuringly, although I have my doubts of its honesty. "You've got plot-armour. That's how the main character in stories works, Saito."

"'Saito'?" I echoed.

Who the _fuck_ is 'Saito'?

/* - */

 **AN: This isn't the end of the double chapter post. The next chapter (8) will conclude the double chapter post.**

 **Until next time.**


	8. Many Questions, Null Answers

**24th October 2016**

 **AN: And here ends the double chapter post. Sadly, this is the shortest chapter to date. Still, I need something to set up for the upcoming chapters.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 8 – Many Questions, Null Answers

"Yeah that's right. I know who you are. I know how this all plays out, even though everything is a little different. I just gotta nudge things a little in the right direction." The raven ranted. "Just like earlier. If I hadn't guided you, there would be no trashing Guiche, although you didn't learn your rune powers…"

"…What on earth are you even on about!?" To say I'm confused would be a massive understatement. It's becoming a trend here as long as magic is involved.

"Aha! 'Earth'!" It exclaimed. "Why would you use that figure of speech if you're not from planet Earth? The world here isn't called Earth. In fact I don't think it's even been given a name."

Crap. I slipped up. I shifted uncomfortably before deciding to distract it by changing the subject. "You said you 'guided' me. What do you mean by that?"

"Wow, and I thought _my_ memory is crap." The bird quipped. "Have you forgotten already? I was with you every step of the way: flirting with Siesta, infiltrating the school workforce, roasting Guiche. Well you did some of that too so I can't take all the credit."

"Wait-wait-wait…" I stalled, trying to wrap my head around this. "The only person there with me was- You're…'brain fragment'?"

"Yep." The bird's head twitched up and down in a mock nod.

"And you're also…the raven from before…the one that I ate?" The pieces of the puzzle are starting to click together in my head, but there are still others missing.

"Well, technically I force-fed you." It quipped.

"But then how are you still alive? How are you here?" I asked. "Last I checked, I haven't taken a dump for the past two days. So you couldn't have came out the other end while I wasn't looking."

"Wow, you're not constipated are you? Maybe it's your powers as a Voidborn." The raven contemplated, though I suspect there's a joke in there I'm not getting given its carefree attitude.

"What? No. Are we seriously discussing my bowel movements right now?" I asked incredulously. "Never mind that. Can we please stop going off topic?"

"Eh, okay." The bird said in a non-committal attitude.

"Let's just drop all pretences. I'm a human from Earth. I got transformed into a character from an online game and placed in this world for God knows what reason." I exasperated. "And you're saying you were human, and now you're a bird. And you…know the 'story'. Can you see how I'm confused about all that?"

"Okay, okay. I get it. You have a few questions." It stated. "So what do you wanna know?"

"I have a _million_ questions, but first: what do you want with me? Why are you here?" Finally, I get to assemble a bit more order from this chaos.

"I'm here to stalk you to make sure this story goes right, and live out my fantasy doing magic and shit." It said. "To do that I need _you_ to do exactly as I tell you so that there is a happy ending."

"…Okay. Let's say I understood that. Another question then." I can feel a headache thumping at the door to my sanity. "You are the same raven that I ate, and you're also my 'brain fragment'. How are you a separate…thing- _entity_ from me?"

"Uuuh, I was never a part of you. You just kinda decided that on your own." It said. "I'm me and you're you. We just happened to be both from Earth."

" _You're_ from Earth?" I doubted.

"Hey, who's the one with no eyes and looks like nightmare fuel right now?" It defended.

Well, it has a point. I guess people being pulled across universes tend to just end up being something different.

"Okay." I continued. "So after I ate you, I became this hybrid form of human and Xer'Sai. Is that your doing? And is that how you were controlling my body?"

"Yes and yes. Ten out of ten." The raven said in a tone that suggested if it had hands, it would be clapping them slowly right now.

"So you're from Earth, like me, but yet you know how to use magic." I asked.

"Well, I've been here for a little while…" It said.

"Somehow I don't think that's the full story." I said with a bit more intensity. I don't mean to be rude or be forceful, but I'm also eager for answers. The situation I'm stuck in isn't exactly comfortable, nor even normal.

"Okay fine. The truth is, all I remember about this world is from some anime I've watched and now I'm in it…as a bird." It relented. "Which sucks! I'm not even the main character! _You're_ the main character! And you're not even the same thing as the original anime!"

Okay, magic I can handle right now, but this? This is a new level of absurd! It's like I can't live for a few minutes without another crazy problem flying at my face.

"Are you saying that my whole life is fake right now?" I asked, my mind still rattling from one thought to another.

"Well, you're supposed to be from my Earth, although…you are a fictional character even then." The bird said slowly. "You're some dude from a light novel that gets pulled into a portal which transports you to this world. Although you're not supposed to be a League of Legends character."

"No! My life is my life. Okay?" I exclaimed. "It didn't just happen because I'm written in some book!"

"Alright! You're not fake, calm down! I'm just saying that this story is already written. If you don't believe that then think of me as a person who can see the future." The bird placated. "I mean I can prove it to you: in the story you're Saito from Japan who's easily distracted by big chested girls, but, really, you're a good person at heart who is also kinda…intellectually challenged."

"…Well. If I were a Japanese person called Saito, I'm sure I would be both bewildered and thoroughly insulted by now." I said after a small pause. "My name is Alexis. I'm a Korean. And I'm most definitely not some stereotypical Japanese anime pervert."

A long pause stretched the span of the room before the bird can gather its thoughts. Seems like I'm not the only one who's confused.

"You're not…? But this world, the setting, the people!" The raven tried to fit together it's own puzzle now that a few pieces are wrong. "Are you sure you're not just saying that because you feel ashamed about your tendency to just blank out at the sight of big boobs?"

"Look, I lived in the U.S. most of my life. I have family and friends there. I have a life there and I doubt that's written in some book." I affirmed. "And it seems to me, this 'story' isn't really going the way you remember."

"You're right, this is all wrong. You were supposed to be summoned here as just another average kid nearly out of his teens. Not Rek'Sai from League of Legends. In fact, I'm not even sure LoL existed in Saito's world." It contemplated. "What's your name again? Alex?"

"Alexis. And before you ask, no it's not a girls only name. As you have figured out by now, I'm a guy, despite being Rek'Sai." I ranted. "What about you? What's your name?"

"I'm…Raven." The bird said hesitantly. "And I'm a girl. Not 'Guys In Real Life' girl, I'm a _girl_ girl."

"Alright. So you're name is…Raven? You sure you didn't just make that up?" I would raise an eyebrow if I had one, that name cannot be just a coincidence.

"Well yeah." It admitted with a gloomy air. "I don't really remember who I am…before…"

"…Oh…" I said dumbly.

That's kind of sad. I feel somewhat sorry for Raven, even if it… _she_ , did cause me a hell load of trouble with Guiche…

Okay, maybe I don't feel _that_ sorry for her.

"You said I'm a raven right? So I'm going to go with the name 'Raven'!" And she's back to her cheery self. "Anyway. Back to the important business.

"So, I was going to keep taking over your body to keep your actions in line with the original story, but there seems to be a glitch in…well the whole thing." She continued. "So, I'm going to ask for your cooperation now to make it through the intended story."

"…Don't you feel shame about admitting to further attempts on hostile takeovers? Do you have any idea how crap it was to be within my own body and not be able to control how I act?" I asked. "Even worse still, you mutated my body into that of a woman's when I'm a guy!"

"Meh. Not my fault, I only transformed you into a human like form. Your own body picked out the gender." Raven dismissed. "Besides! We were smoking hawt! I had to own the scene!"

"You have very messed up priorities." I sighed. "Just getting this straight: you can only take over by having me to eat you, correct?"

"Yep!" Raven chirped.

"And now that I know how it works, you just want to…I don't know, control the story through me by telling me what to do?" I reconfirmed.

"Well, unless you feel like eating me again?" She asked hopefully.

I shook my head to say 'no'.

"Then, yeah, I guess you could say that." Raven conceded.

"Why do you want the story to play out the way it was 'supposed to' anyway?" I questioned.

"Well, you know how stories work right? There's a hero, there's a villain, there's a plot." She listed. "Then at the end, boom, happy ending. I'm just trying to make sure that this world doesn't go to shit, so I need the protagonist." Raven looked pointedly at me as she ended her sentence.

"But why? Why stay here when we can look for a way back to Earth?" I asked.

"Well, one, I don't even have memories of who I was before coming here. And two, there is no way back. I know the story remember?" Raven explained.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you." I said firmly. "There must be a way back. There's magic here, and almost anything is possible with magic. I mean it brought us here. It can take us back."

"And what if there isn't a way back?" She challenged. "Even if you don't believe me. _What if_?"

I don't know. I haven't been able to bring myself to contemplate much on that possibility. If I can't go back, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. I will never be able to see my family and friends again or do the things I'm passionate about. I don't want to live as some pet with no freedom, forever bound to the whims of a magical master.

"Shouldn't you also prepare for the worse? You should play closely to the original story anyway so that you won't be left in a crumbling world if you're stuck here." Raven suggested.

I remained silent, accepting Raven's idea in my mind but still maintaining hope of getting back to Earth. Thankfully, Raven allowed me time to think without any more of her quips. But it was late, and the myriad of stressing events that hounded my wake made it impossible to think on…well anything.

"Just…just let me rest for now. I'll sleep on all…this." I sighed.

"Oh, right, sleep. Yeah, sorry I forgot about that." She said sheepishly. "I hadn't needed sleep since I got here, so I kinda forgot we need sleep."

"Oh." I responded dumbly. There's really nothing I can think of to say about that. "Well, I'm going to sleep now."

"Uhuh." She said.

"So…could you please leave?" I asked. "No offence, but it's creepy if you're going to be here, awake, watching me sleep."

"Alright, fine, fine." Raven relented. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed-bugs fight."

"Fight? Don't you mean bite?" I asked.

"Uh right, bite." She corrected herself before stretching her wings. "Goodnight! Oh that rhymed!"

With a series of flaps, she flew up to the large window sill at the 'front' of the classroom. She hopped through the gap of the window, which was left ajar, and flew off.

Quiet. It was finally quiet. After all the nonsensical things that occurred, I can finally rest. I picked the same corner as last night, curled up as comfortable as I can be on the stone floor and fell into a deep sleep within seconds.

/* - */

Jean Colbert reached the end of the hallway and stopped at the door. He is a middle aged man with a balding scalp, leaving only the sides and the back of his head with enough hair to see him through winters. He wears a purple cloak that covers most of his body, and beneath that, he sports a dark blue, long sleeved overcoat of some kind with white trims. The overcoat stretches past the front and back of his knees, but not the sides to allow for better mobility.

He took a moment to smooth out his attire before proceeding to knock on the door. His knuckles made contact with the smooth wooden door, but with more force than expected as the door opened at the same time. It would have nearly smacked Jean in the face too, had his foot not been habitually between him and the door. Old habits die hard, but it saved his life before; when he was still serving under the crown.

No sound came from the other side of the door and it was eerily quiet. Jean knew all too well that a silencing spell must have been cast, which probably meant that the headmaster is currently entertaining a guest. Guessing that this also means that the headmaster's secretary will be required to leave for the sake of professionalism and privacy, Jean stepped back to allow her to open the door.

The door opened with more caution this time, and from behind it stepped a green haired, bespectacled young woman.

"Professor Colbert, it's good that you're here, I was just sent to fetch for you." The woman smiled.

"Please, Miss Longueville, just call me Jean." The professor smiled in return.

" _Mister_ Colbert then, it's only fair." The woman compromised.

"Haha, quite. So what need has old Osmond of me?" Jean inquired. "I was to report regarding the commotion in the Vestri Court. But there seems a visitor. Even at this hour."

"An astute observation." Longueville nodded. "Unfortunately I'm not privy to what else the headmaster needs you for, but if I were to hazard a guess, it would be related to his…'guest'."

"Interesting. I'm not expecting a meeting with any of my contacts beyond the academy, and with the headmaster no less." Jean mused. "Well, I'd best not keep you from your repose."

"Goodnight, Mister Colbert." Longueville bade.

"And you, Miss Longueville." The professor returned in kind.

Miss Longueville made room to allow Jean to pass. With a final nod of farewell, Jean stepped into the headmaster's office and closed the door behind him.

"-erstand your duty, howev- Ah, Professor Colbert." The wizened old voice of the headmaster popped into Jean's ears as he passed the silencing spell barrier.

The headmaster sat comfortably behind his large and elegantly designed sequoia desk, hands steeped in front of him. It seems that the headmaster is in a more serious mood. A rarity these days. At least, according to Jean.

Old Osmond, as the headmaster is most commonly referred to as, has a full head of hair despite nearing a century old, and have dense bushes for eyebrows. His hair fell to his shoulders and he has an equally long beard that matched his age. All that is left is a whiteness that seem to glow within the candlelit room.

"Sir Osmond, I have managed the aftermath of the duel." Jean reported. "If I may say, sir, I think we should have cut the incident short."

"I agree." A warbled voice with a slight echoing quality announced its presence from behind old Osmond. "This farce shouldn't have been left to run it's course. I've warned you of the dangers of the Void, Eldon."

"Hm…Professor Colbert, allow me to introduce you…" The old man, Eldon Osmond, said while gesturing behind him.

From behind the tall chair in which the headmaster currently sat, a tall man garbed in an exotic armour glided into view. There was no hint of any steps taken, and none of his movements announced any sound, even to an ear as trained as Jean's.

The man wore a black cowl over his head and a strange, black mask that covers his face. The mask conformed to a vague shape of a face but it had no holes whatsoever. Not even for eyes to see through, nor holes for breathing. The cowl extended into a shirt and covering over it are dark purple armour platings with silver trim. He wore large pauldrons with a big spike protruding out of each side. A long kilt like armour covered the bottom half of the man.

However strange Jean thought this man's choice of apparels was, stranger still was this man's skin colour. Blue skin can be seen from the man's hands and arms, which are the only exposed part of his garb.

"This is Kassadin." Eldon introduced. "He's an old friend."

/* - */

 **AN: Well, I hope you have enjoyed that, or at least found it amusing. As a reminder, I keep an updated, rough percentage of completion for my up-coming chapters in my profile page. So if you want to keep tabs on their status, you can check that out from time to time.**

 **Please follow or favourite this story if you want alerts whenever I upload more. It also helps motivate me and gives me confidence so I know my story isn't complete trash.**

 **Thank you for all those who have already followed or favourited, especially those who have reviewed! The PM session we have after your reviews have given me insight to great ideas and concepts I would have otherwise missed, so I really appreciate your time and support! I hope you keep reading!**

 **Until next time.**


	9. An Uneasy Agreement

**18th January 2017**

 **AN: Woah it's been a few months. I hope people haven't lost interest after the long wait. The story's not dead and my plan for it is still intact. I would love to say that the next update would come swiftly, but I'm about to step into the 'real world' and go job hunting. So expect the updates for this story to be slow.**

 **In other news, I've posted my story on the spacebattles forums as well as suggested by** **Pietersielie. I've got a larger audience and different feedback now because of his suggestion, so now the story's got better potential. Thank you Pietersielie!**

 **I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

/* - */

Void Queen

Chapter 09 – An Uneasy Agreement

A 'ding' sounded as I pinged the last two towers, indicating to my team-mates my suggestion to attack them. As an added measure to ensure the clarity of my intent, I quickly typed in the team chat box: "nexus towers, go".

I wanted to quickly rush to the enemy base, take out the towers and destroy their nexus, ending the game in our victory. It was a tactically sound choice, given that the whole enemy team was chasing down two other members

Another two 'ding's sounded as two other players on my team pinged the same towers in agreement.

Of the three lanes in the game, I navigated Thresh, the champion I am controlling, through the bottom lane. I pushed the offensive with my partner of the lane, Vayne, and together we made it to the entrance to the enemy base.

Vayne immediately shot at the last inhibitor structure that was inside the enemy base. I added my measly fire-power to hers in hopes of speeding up the process, but kept a cautious eye on the mini-map for any signs of trouble from the enemy team.

Another character was coming our way, but I was relieved rather than worried, he was on our team. The character Lee Sin was traversing through the jungle area and closing in on our position to assist us with our offence.

However, my relief was short lived. The enemy team had gotten wise to our strategy. Three of them were able to break off from chasing down my remaining two team-mates at the top lane and had recalled back to their base.

Now in front of us, they hurried to position themselves to defend their base. I quickly made a note of who they are, their abilities and their general play-style.

Caitlyn, the enemy's back-line marksman. Long ranged. Deals high amounts of sustained damage. Uses traps and nets for snaring movement as well as extra damage. Can do a long range sniping shot from a long way away if you're still in her sights. _**(1)**_

Rengar, the enemy's choice of champion in the jungle _**(2)**_. Melee ranged. Assassin. Has a huge burst of power. Can become invisible, but we will know when he's in the area via an exclamation mark above our heads. Can leap to his target from stealth.

Lux, the enemy's back-line spellcaster. Long ranged. Spells and abilities does damage in big bursts. Can root you to a spot or slow your movement speed down if you don't dodge her abilities. Also have a shielding ability to aid her team-mates and herself.

All three of the enemy's champions are high damage characters, and are built _**(3)**_ as such for this game, meaning they are scary if they get a chance to attack. But it also means that they lack any sort of defences and health, so if my team and I play our cards right, we may be able to come out of this fight alive to finish the game.

My champion, Thresh, is built tanky, buying all the defensive items _**(3)**_ to fill my role as a tank-support character. Lee Sin, also built himself with a lot of defences and health so we will likely be able to survive the fight. We don't have any sort of damage though, but that's where the last member of our group comes in. Vayne will be our glass cannon, our only source of sustainable, high-end damage at the cost of having virtually no defence whatsoever.

Lee Sin and I position ourselves between the enemy and Vayne, while Vayne stays close enough to us, but far enough away from the enemy's reach. Standard tactical positions.

The enemy's assassin, Rengar, ran straight towards us, but before he got within our range of attack, he faded from view. Exclamation marks popped up above our heads, and Lee Sin and I hurried closer to Vayne to protect her. All the while the enemy back-liners took pot shots at us, trying to poke us down.

Lee Sin and I ignored them completely, trusting in the beefiness of our defence. Instead, I kept my eyes solely on Vayne and readied to activate my spell of choice at a moment's notice. I kept my position between Vayne and where Rengar should be from his last visible location. My prediction is that Rengar will jump straight at Vayne from his stealth. While mid-jump, he should cast a spell that roots his target in place to easily get within attack range. From there it'll only take a second before our damage dealer's health vanishes.

As expected, Rengar reappeared suddenly, leaping over me to get to Vayne. Reacting immediately, I cast my spell. Thresh swiped the ground from Vayne's direction to Rengar's and the spell pushed him back mid-jump.

The assassin, having not expecting that, accidentally casted his rooting spell toward me instead of Vayne. Rengar's bola rooted me to the spot at point-blank range, ensnaring me.

My team-mates reacted. Lee Sin sent a ball of energy at Rengar, dealing damage and marking him as a target. He then flew at the assassin with a kick, homing in at his target via the mark.

Vayne shot and rolled away before shooting again with her wrist mounted crossbow. I myself was adding what little damage I had into the mix, but was only able to land two hits before Rengar was out of my attack range.

Luckily, Rengar was close to dying already, but refused to give up hunting his prey. He threw another bola at Vayne, this time he had a clear shot after taking a few steps.

The bola neared Vayne's feet but she rolled away at the last second. Returning fire immediately, she quickly melted Rengar's health down to zero.

We turned our attention to the two remaining enemies and advanced on them. We held the advantage in numbers now, even if Lee Sin and I were at half our health from all the constant damage the two back-liners were doing. The flow of the battle is in our favour. I've read the enemy correctly, and my aptly timed spell had paid off.

The hardest part of this fight was over, but we still had to be careful if we don't want to throw our game off track. We're the ones chasing now, and that, paradoxically, is when we will be more vulnerable.

It's more dangerous for us because, while we are the aggressors, chasing down our enemies, they still have some distance between us. The fact that they have long range means that they can continue to shoot at us even while retreating, albeit more slowly.

The enemy did just that, running and shooting our health down. Lee Sin's and my health dropped even lower. However, we are gradually getting closer to them each time they slow down to attack us.

As our health neared fatality, our opposition grew more complacent, still shooting while running, believing that they can kill us and turn the tides.

That was a mistake on their part, or perhaps a highly risky move from us, but we kept chasing until I was sure I am in range for my abilities to work against them.

I had already memorised their pattern: walk two steps, stop and attack, walk two steps, stop and attack. Just as they took another two steps, I threw my hook and aimed at Lux, the spellcaster, rather than Caitlyn, the marksman. The reason is because Caitlyn's net shot can propel her backwards while simultaneously slow her target down if it hits. This makes it very easy to miss her. Lux on the other hand, have no such mobility options.

The hook landed easily on Lux and I threw down my lantern, giving myself a shield, and a way for Vayne to travel quickly to my location if she was attentive enough to activate it.

The moment my hook landed, it had stopped Lux in her tracks, giving Lee Sin a window of opportunity. He cast his ball of energy at the vulnerable Lux, marking her before flying through the air and delivering a kick.

I yanked on my hook to send myself flying towards Lux as well, and a moment later, Vayne too flew to my position having enough awareness of the situation to activate the lantern I left behind. The lantern's ability gave us all a small shield which disappeared as Caitlyn took desperate shots at us to save her team-mate.

In a panic, Lux and Caitlyn both used their summoner's spell "Flash" _**(4)**_ , and blinked out of existence. They reappeared a little further away from us, nearing the safety of their nexus towers.

If they made it there, it will spell certain doom for us if we chased them into the range of the towers. The towers will be able to provide them with quite damaging fire-power and at a good range, too. Luckily we all had our summoner's spell "Flash" as well and we used it instinctively to close the distance.

The next part of the fight happened in a blur. Lux's health dropped as Lee Sin executed his ultimate ability, kicking her towards Caitlyn. Vayne also activated her ultimate ability, gaining more fire-power and becoming invisible every time she rolled to close the distance, all the while shooting at Lux.

Lux died not long after knocking into Caitlyn, and while Caitlyn was knocked up into the air by a flying Lux, I activated my own ultimate ability. Five walls of ethereal texture rose up around me, forming a pentagonal prison. It caught everyone within it, trapping my target, Caitlyn with us.

Vayne immediately rained her silver bolts on Caitlyn. The enemy panicked and shot her net at us in order to escape. Her shot propelled her backwards, away from us and through my wall. Her health dipped a bit more as my wall dealt damage, but more importantly, my wall also slowed her to a crawling pace.

Our marksman quickly caught up with a roll, ending Caitlyn's life just as she made it within the tower's firing range.

Our minions were already at the nexus tower, soaking up damage from the tower's shots while dealing a bit of damage themselves. Lee Sin, Vayne and I wasted no time in attacking the towers ourselves, destroying them and then destroying the enemy's nexus afterwards.

We won. Even through all the verbal bashing and harsh language from the other two members on our side, we won. Through perseverance and tactical skill. I would say it was through team work, but that would only apply to the three of us who ended the game. The other two are still spewing toxic in the chat box even in the post game results screen.

I never lost myself into the whole blame game and the never ending contest of ego. I may be serious when I play the game, but ultimately, it wasn't something my pride was concerned about.

Still, it was a good feeling, predicting the enemy's moves and watching as everything fell under my control. I always make it a point to manipulate the battlefield through utility rather than raw power.

Raw power.

Raw power granted to me as claws raked my face, tearing away my identity along with my skin. I can't move away from the claws. I didn't. I'm already dead. I didn't move away. I'm already dead. I'm already-

/* - */

I flailed wildly as I scrambled to get away from the claws. No matter how far backed myself up against the wall, the claws were still there in front of me, weaving in and out of my vision.

I felt a dull thud against my hand and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a puff of feathers floating through the air.

Wait…

I was brought to my senses from my nightmare induced panic, and I shook my head to clear my mind. The claws I was running away from were my very own. Right, I'm Rek'Sai. I'm in another world. A world full of magic.

I looked around for Raven who I've no doubt accidentally clipped with my claws.

On a table across the room lay Raven, unmoving.

Oh crap.

I moved quickly to her side and examined her. It doesn't seem like she's breathing. What's more there was a large gash across her body and her left wing was all mangled.

Oooh shit.

"Raven!" I whispered loudly. Why I was whispering, I had no clue.

The bird gave no response.

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

"Raven! Hey!" I tried again, this time nudging the bird very gently and carefully by it's beak.

She stirred and came to, much to my relief. Good, at least she's still alive.

"Guuuh…my wing…my body…my everything…" Raven moaned.

"It's alright, it's alright." I assuaged. "Just, stay conscious and I'll go get help. Healing magic, okay?"

"Uuuh…W- no!" She cried in a sudden burst of energy. "Healing magic doesn't work on me! Believe me I tried! The only way to save me is to let me inside you!"

…

Inside…me…?

"As in eat me!" She clarified. "Come on! Priorities!"

"Okay, how does that work?" I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice. For all I knew she could be lying and trying to take advantage of the situation to take over my body again.

"Is this really the time?" Raven cocked her head to the side to look me in the eye. "Okay, when you absorb me, I'll become magical energy, in which I'll be in a stable state. Now I know what you're thinking. I'll be able to control you then and shit will hit the fan like yesterday. But no! I'll be too weak to be able to do that. So _hurry up_ and EAT ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

I guess I'm convinced. I mean it _is_ a life or death situation.

"Okay, okay…uh," I hesitated, not sure how to proceed. "So, how do we do this?"

I know I've eaten her before, but that was an accident. Now that I have to do it deliberately, it feels kind of weird. And not exactly something within my comfort zone; eating a live bird whole.

"Dude, put ketchup on me, barbeque sauce, whatever. Just eat- Ooow…My head…" Raven groaned again.

"Okay, alright. I can do this," I said to myself.

I gently scooped her up in my claws and she hissed in pain.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I repeated worriedly.

"Don't 'sorry' me! Just eat me!" Raven cried with a pained voice.

I nodded, more to myself than to her. I mean it _is_ my fault that she is in the condition she is in now. Even if it was an accident. If this is the only way to help her, then I'll do it.

I took a steadying breath through my mouth and tilted my head back, bringing Raven to my open maws.

Trying my best not to think about how wrong this felt, I focused on gulping and swallowing without chewing. I nearly choked as my breath hitched thinking about how disgusting it must be from Raven's perspective.

I refrained from feeling how Raven travelled down my gullet. A bulging, alive, thing squirming as she tried to ease her wing into a less painful position.

Two heart beats later, I felt it; _magic_. A growing sensation within my core. It's not a warm sensation, or a tingle as typical fantasy would have you believe magic felt. It's more like…pressure. Not like it's bloating me up from the inside, it's like a presence, like you know it's there. Almost like someone placing their hand on your shoulder gently. It's not the impact of the contact, but the contact itself. Your nerves sensing the touch. Magic is like that, except with non-existent nerves.

My point of perception changed. To me it felt like flying backwards a meter and dropping down a little. My arms and legs lost feeling before I felt myself in a kneeling position, as if before royalty. I lost my vision, but hopefully that will return soon.

I waited for my vision to return to me. But as I held my breath, I saw pinpricks of light pierce into my eyes. I realised that my Xer'Sai body was actually a shell around me, sort of like husk. More light filled into the shell as more and more flakes of my former body dissolve into magic. They glowed in shades of purple and blue before burning up like paper, surfing the air currents. It was a enchanting sight to behold.

As the shell unravelled more of the outside world, I glanced down at myself. Even if I can feel the familiarity of the humanoid form, I wanted to confirm with my own eyes. I saw my naked form, my clawed hands, my taloned feet, and my purple hair.

I sighed, I guess even this form is close enough to who I was, to _what_ I was. Even better is that I still have full control over my body. I hardly want to experience the traumas from yesterday again.

 _Oh please, don't be such a drama queen._

Raven? Are you alright now? Does it still hurt?

 _All I can feel right now are what you can physically feel. So all's well!_

Good.

I let out a breath of relief.

 _Although, I still feel_ much _weaker than before. So there's that._

I winced.

I am sorry, Raven. I didn't know I hit you. I-

 _Yeah, yeah. If you really want to make up for it then agree to what we discussed yesterday._

Yesterday? About…this world being an anime? And instead of the original protagonist, I showed up in his place?

 _Yup. And also about how I want you to follow the anime's canon._

All of what she said was still simply too absurd for me to trust. Alternate dimensions I can stomach, because there's somewhat explainable science behind that. But bringing in a TV show?

I ran my hand over my face, though it was made slightly awkward as I was wary of my sharp claws. I got up to my feet as the last of the Xer'Sai shell crumbled into the air.

 _Look, what's the harm? Just run with it a little and see how it goes. You can still research ways for getting back to Earth. My magic is weak right now so you can run around freely in that form. Plus you will be able to fit into smaller spaces now._

…

Okay. I guess I'll give your idea a test run. I've never seen this anime before so I'll be relying on you to tell me where I'm supposed to be.

 _Deal. Pleasure doing business with you!_

I grunted my agreement and took stock of myself once more.

Well first things first, I got to take care of my lack of clothes. Different gender or not, it's still my body.

…

It's really…obtrusive, for lack of a better word, to look down and see such glaring differences.

 _You know, now that I think about it, this body might just be me when I was human. Minus all the monster bits of course._

Oh. Sorry for looking. We should probably get some clothes.

 _Yeah, let's. It's getting kinda awkward._

Raven's voice fell silent and I didn't have anything to say either. I couldn't leave the classroom to go ask for spare clothes, so I waited until Louise comes to get me for whatever she had planned today.

We were supposed to go see the school's headmaster this morning, and later, if we aren't in too much trouble, we are to sit down and have a proper chat with each other. I'm actually looking forward to that. I have some questions I want answered.

Actually I always seem to have questions that need answering. Not surprising given the situation I'm in, but I am glad that the list of questions seem to be shortening somewhat.

/* - */

Really, Louise should have at least learnt that black haired maid's name so she could request her next time. Having this random maid who had no experience in what to expect of her familiar complicated the situation somewhat.

It seems this maid was quite skittish and the abnormal appearance of Louise's humanoid familiar was enough to trouble the maid. She second guessed everything she said and did, and took too long to do anything.

Alas, the maid managed to procure some spare commoner's clothes for her, yet again, transformed familiar. Albeit needing a few round trips to get the right size. This maid's inability to adapt and cope with unique situations had Louise appreciating the convenience of the original maid, who tended to Rek'Sai, a lot more.

Before she dismissed the maid, she asked for the black haired maid. Black being a very rare as far as hair colours are concerned, so asking for the maid by that description yielded instant results. The maid told Louise that the original maid's name is Siesta, but unfortunately she was not available today as she had already been requested to attend to another noble.

It was unfortunate, but Louise knew that the early bird gets the worm. She'll request for this 'Siesta' as a personal maid later. Her allowance from home should be able to cover the cost. It wouldn't leave her much, but she never had the need to go shopping for anything save the essentials.

Once her familiar was decent, they had breakfast in the Alvis Dining Hall. Rek'Sai was ordered to wait outside and had no food as punishment for her misconduct yesterday. After Louise had her fill, they walked in silence to the headmaster's office. Rek'Sai silently accepting her punishment while they walked. At least, it seemed that way to Louise.

To any passers-by, they look to be a mage master leading her dutiful servant. Internally, however, Louise's mind was getting impatient with her many questions for her familiar. She wanted a familiar that could make her stand out, be respected, and finally shake loose of her mocking moniker: Zero.

She got what she wanted, but not quite as she expected. Her familiar was a mystery. Sometimes a monster, sometimes a woman, or an imitation of one. Guiche's exclamation of 'Demon' and 'Succubus' almost makes sense, but Rek'Sai's attitude doesn't normal seem malicious. Louise would describe her familiar's personality as 'wild'. As in always in flux. She couldn't really pin a mood or attitude that defines her familiar.

Sometimes Rek'Sai would be receptive to instructions, sometimes she would be a mischievous troublemaker, another time she would be filled with cold fury, and sometimes she would become beast like, feral and wild.

That chaotic nature boded ill for what her familiar actually was. A demon from Utangard seemed a more and more likely explanation for her familiar's nature.

Louise's heart skipped a few beats as she realised what that could imply. If and when the church catches wind of a demonic summon, she will very likely be taken in for questioning. Her family name would be in jeopardy and the only way to save their name was if she was disowned. Her life would be in ruins!

Louise kept her outward appearance calm and collected as she climbed a set of stairs with Rek'Sai in tow. She breathed deeply in order to calm down and reminded herself that it was all speculations for now. Nothing was concrete information yet, although the seed of doubt had already been planted.

However, brief moment of mental stillness was quickly replaced by frustration. An emotion felt so often it was almost like a friend to Louise. It stems from her failures, her inability to do anything right, not just magic. At times she would even sink so low as to ask if this was her fate in life; to be a failure, to be Zero.

Louise would always slap herself after a few moments of thinking that way. She promised her mother, she promised herself, that she would strive to become an accomplished mage no matter what difficulties lie in her way. If she didn't have this drive to move forward, she doubt she would have lasted until now, the second year of her studies here at Tristain Academy.

She's a daughter of the Vallière family for Brimir's sake! She had been sent to the most prestigious institution for the magic arts! There was no way she would fail when she had been put on a path with so much opportunity!

With her resolve set straight, her walk became a march. She slowed her pace as she reached the long hallway before the office, adjusting her clothes and checking her hair as she went. By the time she reached the large set of doors, she was confident her appearance was well presentable.

She looked back at her familiar, who looked back neutrally at her. Louise thought the plain commoner clothes were unfit for meeting the more esteemed nobles such as the headmaster, but she wasn't about to go buy Rek'Sai proper servant's clothes just for the occasion. She shouldn't spend so much on the care of her familiar if Rek'Sai was going to be this much trouble. It was Rek'Sai's fault that they were going to see the headmaster in the first place. Another problem was that if Rek'Sai decided to morph back into her monstrous form, the clothes will be torn in the process, much like the gardening clothes she had been wearing yesterday.

Still, they were about to see the headmaster himself, Old Osmond as most people call him. So Louise turned back to adjust her familiar's clothes.

"We're about to see Headmaster Osmond. You should have made yourself as presentable as possible without anyone telling you." Louise admonished.

However, she chose to fix her familiar's clothes herself as she thought Rek'Sai maybe didn't know how clothes were worn normally, being a beast and all.

The beast-morph looked a bit surprised at first, but stayed silent, offering a nod in acknowledgement. Her vibrant, purple eyes trained on Louise's hands as she tucked her shirt in and combed her equally vibrant and purple hair back neatly. Rek'Sai had to kneel a little and bend her head down awkwardly for Louise to reach.

When Louise was done she stood back and nodded to herself.

"Thank you Master." Rek'Sai said.

"I hope you were paying attention. This is how you should present yourself when meeting anyone. I will not have you lower the standards of my family. Am I understood?" Louise asked sternly, arms crossed.

"…Yes Master." Rek'Sai intoned after a slight pause.

"Good." Louise certainly hoped one lesson would be enough. The unspoken threat of more missed meals should encourage Rek'Sai's behaviour to be more obedient.

Louise turned her attention back to the doors and knocked.

 _Time to accept responsibility_ , Louise thought a little bitterly.

/* - */

 _ **(1)**_ \- Caitlyn's sniping shot is different to her other basic attacks. While she does have a long range for her basic shots, this sniping shot can aim at a target that is several times farther. It requires her to stand still and aim for a longer time than her usual shots.

 _ **(2)**_ \- The League of Legend's map consists of three lanes: 'top', 'middle', and 'bottom' lane. There are five players, so in terms of the 'meta' of the game, two players go to the bottom lane, one goes to the middle, and one to the top. There will be one player leftover, and he/she will go into the 'jungle' of the map. The jungle is set between the three lanes. It consists of jungle monsters which give different buffs for the jungler to better ambush the lane players for his team.

 _ **(3)**_ \- Every player has six slots for storing items that they can buy. Items bought in the match do different things depending on its properties, some boosts armour, health, magical damage, etc. Through the choice of the items (items cannot stack upon itself to occupy the same slot), the player can specialise their character to have specific builds such as heavy physical attack champion, a defensive champion, a supportive champion, a heavy magical attack champion, etc. The optimal build depends on the champion selected.

 _ **(4)**_ \- In the lore of League of Legends, Summoners are us, the players, and the map, Summoner's Rift, is a place where diplomatic disputes are settled by the Summoners. The Summoners will choose a champion, the characters in League of Legends, to battle. Champions and Summoners will communicate through some sort of magical link to coordinate their movements. Summoners have two spells that can be used in every match to aid their champion. Spells can be chosen before every game from a list. The most common spell that most players will pick is 'Flash'.

/* - */

 **AN: The chapter turned out to be a more characterisation chapter than a plot chapter. I know the Louise here seem a lot more subdued than the anime portrayal but that's intentional. I wanted to write more realistic characters rather than the Japanese anime archetype derived version. So the 'over-the-top' reactions found originally in the characters will be toned down. Characters actually reason. Not saying that they will be completely unaffected by their emotions, but their actions will be more reasonable.**

 **Until next time.**


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